Ember
by Illustrioustaco
Summary: Loki was never kidnapped by Odin, and was instead raised as a Jotun runt, scorned and disliked, who bought shame and dishonor to his parent. Warnings at top of first chapter.
1. Sins of the Fathers

WARNINGS! TAKE HEED! Mpreg, dub-con, bad sex scene (a bland one hopefully bland enough that its not against Terms) and a possible squick pairing at the beginning. Oh yea, and some SERIOUS mutilation of mythology and cannon.

Sins of the Fathers

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The battle had raged on for days, and the hills of Midgard would never be the same, Giants and Aesir trampling along the land aside the humans who named this realm home. The dance of power was tangible in the air, lights in the sunless sky dancing above the warriors who fought. The Cask of Ancient Winters was a fearsome artifact indeed, especially in the hands of its creators, the mad frost giants of Jotunheim. However, Gungir was also a fearsome artifact in the right hands, and Odin held his own against his nemesis, the king of the Jotnar.

"This is Madness Laufey! You would turn this realm no better than your own ruined world!" Odin shouted, lashing out with the spear as he tried to push the Jotun king back north, where their own winter bridge had deposited the army so many of the mortal years ago.

"A fitting tribute to this realms new rulers then!" Laufey shouted back, not letting Odin push him far before he pushed back. The frost giants were deadly in themselves to the golden sunborn Aesir wariors, and for every Jotun felled, three of the golden warriors of Asgard fell. He was confident he could win. "From this realm, we can spread our blessings of ice and death to every realm… starting with Golden Asgard." The giant's words were cruel, and his magic even more so.

Odin was clever though, and a master of his surroundings, even when the Cask turned the very land around him into hell itself. "Why Laufey? Why do you do this?" Odin let his betrayal and rage leak into his voice, feigning forward before pulling back just as the Jotun king struck again. The god's feet and hands were nimble though, and he struck faster than the giant, spear tangling in the deadly ice of the cask and pushing, just enough to knock it from Laufey's hands. However, that didn't mean that the frost giant was beaten, and it was barely a moment later that Gungir jointed the cask, thrown aside and out of Odin's reach.

Odin growled at his enemy, jumping forward and determined to strangle the other king with his bare hands if he had to. Any sacrifice was acceptable to end this senseless war, though he was surprised when the Giant moved forward to meet him, a cruel look on his face. Odin almost cursed as he remembered the poison that was the touch of a Jotun, but instead he murmured under his breath, calling upon the aesir magic that was his as king. He grinned as his hands closed around Laufey's throat, the giants grin slipping even as Odin's hands didn't burn from the frozen of the other.

"Not this time Laufey…" Odin said, almost gleeful as he began to choke his nemises, though it didn't take long for Laufey to respond, his own icy hands clasping the Aesir kings throat in turn. Both of the kings grappled in the snow, golden skin and frozen flesh trying to kill each other.

It was as much to Laufey's surprise as Odin's as both of them found their lips locked, the frost giant rubbing his lithe body against the hardened muscles of his enemy. Unlike the Aesir battle dress, the Jotun loin cloth left little to imagination as the blue king's body pushed the other into responding. Their grip was still rough, still bruising and cruel as each man vied for dominance, though no longer working to kill the other. There was now a fevered need to the touches, and Laufey continued to struggle even as the Aesir god pinned him.

The Jotun would have flushed with embarrassment if he hadn't been so caught in need, and even as he pushed and clawed at the golden Aesir, his legs spread, begging and needy. Odin obliged him, even as pink lips and black locked again, the god's hard length finding the other mans entrance. The Jotun king pulled back to shout in pain, even as his hips thrust upward into the other's strong, hard thrusts. The painful burning need pulled his legs around the Aesir, no room for thought in his head as he was lost in the terrible need. None had ever bested him in combat, nor taken him during mating season, but that this Aesir was strong and clever enough to do so…

The Giants instincts said that this would be an acceptable father for progeny… when Laufey woke later, he was sore, humiliated, and barely stayed himself from slicing his own wrists as he looked up at where Odin leaned against a rock. The Cask of Ancient Winters lay nearby, the frost damaged skin of the gods hands attested where the man had tried to take the cask, but he had not been able to hold it. That much made the Jotun king grin.

"I never would have taken you for Argr…" Odin stated, immediately erasing the Jotun's grin as Laufey growled at him.

"Your insults mean nothing, Aesir." He growled, standing painfully up and taking the cask, walking away, trusting that if the allfather hadn't killed him in his stupor after mating, then the man wouldn't kill him now. He didn't.

XXX

When the Jotuns withdrew from Midgard, the Aesir council met under Odin's watchful eyes, ten of his closest friends and advisors, and a handful of Midgardian mortals. "We must pursue them to Jotunheim. If we leave them as they are, they will only re-muster their forces and once more act aggressively towards the other realms."

"How do you suggest we follow them? We have no authority on Jotunheim, unlike here on Midgard with our friends." One of the councilors said, and Odin shook his head.

"That is the point my friend, if we leave them be, we will only find ourselves fighting this battle again, and again." Odin stated vehemently, knowing in his heart that this war must be ended now. His wife had already given birth to their first son, and he had only heard of it in a missive. He had to make all the realms safe, for the sake of his child. In the end, they did.

XXX

The battle was over, the cask safely contained under spell and box. The giants had retreated, and were licking their wounds, under the lead of their king Laufey.

"I'll not miss this desolate hell hole." Odin turned to look at his friend, grinning as the other spoke. "Do not take long my friend in your words with the defeated king, Hemidal will be bringing the last of us home soon."

"I will… I need to ensure that Laufey understands the terms of this peace." Odin said, and his friend laughed, before continuing towards his target. The temple was ruins, nearly abandoned save where he was to meet Laufey. However there was no sign of the Jotun king, and Odin pressed his lips together in disapproval as he worked his way deeper into the temple. He wouldn't put it past someone who was Argr to try to lay some kind of trap, but the Allfather fell into no such thing.

"So good of you to impose the last of your will, Odin of the Aesir." Laufey said from the shadows, seated in a throne made of ice and crumbling stone. "There was no reason. I understand the terms of this peace." The Jotun king growled at the interloper, scarlet eyes glinting in what little light filtered this deeply into the temple. "Get out." The frost giant said, rising himself and turning away, not really giving Odin a chance to answer.

Odin growled himself, speaking one last time before turning to leave himself. "Remember well the terms of this truce. Should it be broken there will be no other recourse but that which neither of us desire." The destruction completely of Jotunheim, by the Asbru bridge. Odin was loathe to have to wipe out an entire species, and he was certain that even mad Laufey would not allow it to come to that.

The Aesir got no response from the hereditary king of Jotunheim, and turned himself to leave. He paused for just a moment when he thought he heard something move, and glanced back, but instead of investigating, he continued on his way.

A silent, but squirming, bundle remained where the alter of the temple had once been, left and forgotten in the shadows, too small to be a giant, and too blue to be an Aesir.

XXXXX

AN: So… yea… in this, Odin IS Loki's father… I would label the thing between Laufey and Odin to be Dubcon at best, because Laufey has certain instincts when it comes to someone stronger than him. Loki is going to have those same instincts when he reaches jotun maturity. XgrinsX This is officially AU, and I'm planning at this point to do six chapters of Loki living with the Jotun and being absolutely miserable… then about five chapters planned where he's miserable with the Aesir… Yea, he's not going to be the out and out bad guy though. :3 He's just going to look like the bad guy.

For the record, this is based in the Marvel universe, and will eventually involve the avengers… I've got it planned for up to that point at least, and I'll be shamelessly mugging mythology for ideas on what to have the kids up to. Yea… that part where Thor had to dress up as Freya to get his hammer back? Xevil grinX

On another note, this won't update quite as regularly as Fiery Spirit and Falling, since I'm probably only going to be working on this one when I've got ideas for it, since for a long time its going to focus on Loki's childhood… So… probably two or three updates this month, then slowing down… I promise to not give up on it though, because I've got plans for the timeline.


	2. Spark

Chapter One

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Pain and fear finally made the child move from his hiding place, scrambling from one shadow to the next as he hunted up the nutritious crystals that grew this far from the remains of the city. There was nothing in his belly, and hadn't been for days, and even then he hadn't been filled. Scampering on bruised blue hands and feet, he pulled himself over the rocks, and down on the other side, searching for the little crystal lichen that grew in the darkness under the stones. He didn't have words to express his joy at finding that there was enough to eat, instead reaching with bruise blackened fingers and scraping some of the crystals into his mouth.

Sighing as he finished what he could find here, he flopped back and looked up at the sky, stars and dark clouds warring for attention as shadows and light drifted across the land. The young blue form curled a little, looking up before shaking its head, and he looked around, glad to finally have found something to eat, even if it wasn't as good as what he could smell coming from the warriors camps. He grinned as he looked back towards the ruins of the city, scampering towards the tall broken forms of the buildings, sticking to the shadows as he moved. Time bore no concept to the young jotun, there was only now, and what had been. Still, there was an insatiable need for knowledge in him, and the warriors were always more interesting than hunting when his belly was full. There had even been a time not so long ago when the jotun in charge of dinner had left the food unattended for long enough for the child to steal some.

That had been the first time he had a full belly, though he had paid for it later when one of the warriors had caught him. Quietly, he crept through the shadows and watched the grown Jotnar lounging around the glowing crystal that served as the meeting point for them. He was quiet as he listened, only understanding so much of what they were talking about, but it was nice to even hear their voices. Something in the child was soothed at even being around others, though there was a constant gnawing fear as well.

XXX

Laufey sat on his stone throne watching his warriors gather and speak in hushed tones, growling as he glared at the men who called themselves his finest. His finest were dead, gone in that fateful war that took with it his peoples pride and their greatest strengths. Gone were the grand stone and ice halls that his ancestors had built here in his kingdom, and far longer gone were the stone and wooden halls of the other giants of jotunheim. His father had led the campaign to wipe them out and make this world theirs, but he had failed to spread their ways. The ages of the Giants were over, and it was a bitter pill indeed dealt out by the light loving Aesir when they followed the Jotun home and smashed their halls and temples. The slaves and thralls of the other races that served them had died out generations ago, and none remained to rebuild their home. After all, no warrior would lower himself to the disgrace of actually building with his own hands.

"The runt is back." Borka stated, leaning down from where he stood next to Laufey, and the jotnar king bristled as his lieutenant, his keeper, reminded him of his mistake.

"Chase it away, let the wilds kill it this time." Laufey growled, glaring at the tiny form his keeper had pointed out in the shadows. It was his greatest shame, that his heir was born a runt, never mind that it was a half breed. Few enough knew of that, or that Borka had claimed rights that Laufey had allowed no one else to save face.

"Leave it be. It will be useful in times to come, my king." Borka said slyly, and Laufey growled at him before turning his attention back to his warriors. "It really looks just like you. It's a pity the father never named it." Another jab at Laufey's honor before he too returned his attention to the quiet camp.

"They plot against me." Laufey growled, not acknowledging the other jotun's words about his bastard offspring, changing the topic, and Borka let him.

XXXX

The child lingered in the shadows again, watching the warriors around their crystal, and listening to them. They were more exited now than he had seen them recently, happy and animated, dancing and celebrating. They had even gone out as a team and killed one of the great beasts of the ice for meat aplenty. Some of the warriors stopped and looked at him, speaking quietly before throwing a hank of meat in his direction. It was different than what the child was used to, but it smelled so good, and his bely was rumbling in hunger.

Cautiously, he skittered forward, taking the chunk of meat from the ground before scrambling back into the shadows and eating it, unashamed when the warriors laughed at his animal like behavior. "Come eat, runt. This day even you are an acceptable amusement." One of the men called, and the boy frowned even as the warrior held out another chunk of food.

"Musmen?" He asked, nervously skittering forward again, wary and ready to pull back into the shadows again if the jotun changed his mind and kicked at the child instead.

"Amusement, beast." The warrior said again, letting the boy take the food and scurry back again, a pleased look on his face as the boy didn't go all the way back into the shadows this time, stopping not far away. "Even you will have your purpose as we reclaim what's rightfully ours." There was a grin on his features, but the emotion was unfamiliar to the youth, who only tilted his head as he waited for more food. "Come… its time you met Laufey and your younger brother." The man stated, wrapping his hand around the child's frail arm when next the boy darted in for an offered food morsel.

"Lafey?... wha… bother?" the child asked, skittish but not struggling since the jotun had given him another morsel to chew.

"Laufey is your father. You have the same markings… mostly." The warrior sneered at the child's form, and the boy looked down at himself, taking in the darker blue lines crossing his skin, the same as many of the warriors. He looked back and forth, looking at the markings of the men around him, taking in the plethora of straight lines and forms, before frowning at the marking above his belly.

"Not… same…?" He asked, not having seen a curling mark like that on any of the other Jotun, or for that matter any coiling rounded markings like his own.

"Not exactly… you are vitki, which is shameful, worthless compared to a real warrior, but I will find a use for you." The child puzzled at the words, confused and not understanding very well, before he was startled by a loud shout.

"Borka, what the hell are you doing?" One of the other men said, and the Jotun still holding the skittish child grinned widely.

"Laufey needs to see the runt. I'll wager he hasn't taken a good look since the whelp was left to Mimameidr's mercy." The warrior holding him motioned towards the boy again, and something akin to understanding dawned in the other warriors eyes before the jotun laughed.

"Very well… this should be amusing at least." The jotun said before Borka pulled the child into the ruined room beyond.

"Laufey…" Borka stated, still holding the runt. "I have a proposition."

"What is it Borka." Laufey asked, and the child caught his breath as a face both familiar and terrifying looked towards him. "I told you I want nothing more to do with that."

"I think it could be useful, look." Borka's hands ran across the boy's form, pointing out the rounded markings over his head, under scraggly ebony hair and on his shoulders and belly. "It's a vitki."

"All the more reason to kill it and get it over with." Laufey growled, clearly displeased, and Borka laughed.

"Hardly. Why destroy such a useful tool that can be molded to your will so easily? No, I will teach it some, and have it create for us more weapons." The child barely understood any of what the man was saying, but there was kindness in his voice, so he didn't struggle even against the strange touches on his flesh. "I'll teach him the same time I teach precious Helbindi here." The man dropped the runt, and he made a noise of protest, but didn't move, crouching and watching as Borka moved to where another child, younger than the little jotun runt but the same size, sat by Laufey, running a hand over the baby's bald head.

"Helbindi? Fitting name you've chosen." Laufey stated, glaring down at the runt while Borka introduced himself to the kings new heir. "Very well. If you wish to toy with it, help yourself."

"Thank you, my Liege." If there was scorn in the warriors voice, the runt didn't know enough to understand it.

XXXX

"Come out and play, freak." The words were cruel, and the tone crueler as the jotun youth wandered, looking for his play toy.

"Hel, I'm tired… I'm going home." The boy with him stated, a little younger than him, and with silvery markings. Unlike the runt, both youths had straight, honorable markings, and long, strong horns.

"Stay Byle, There's nowhere else for the runt to hide." Helbindi stated, looking around before grinning as his sharp ears heard something he hadn't much expected but wasn't going to object to using. Quietly for a giant, he moved, striking quickly to pull the smaller boy out from behind a crumbling pillar of the city. "See… I told you I would find him soon." Hel said laughing as he shook the runt, not letting go of him.

"So what… I'm going back." Byle said, clearly not caring one way or another that his brother had caught the runt magic user. "I'll tell Laufey and Borka where you went if you aren't back soon." He added, and his older brother scowled at his retreating back.

"Well, at least I have that long with my favorite diversion." Hel stated, shaking the runt again before moving away from the ruins of the edge of the city.

"Let go of me Helbindi… I'm doing what Borka wants!" the runt shouted at him, squirming as hard as he could against the younger boy's grip.

"No… I think I'm tired of Borka spending so much time teaching you, when you are obviously a failure. You can't even conjure ice to you hand, let alone build the things Borka kept you alive for." Helbindi said cruelly. "No… I think you'll stop wasting everyone's time if I just tell you how angry it makes me when he spends time on you." The larger giant adjusted his grip on the struggling run, holding the boy over his shoulders by ankle and wrist.

"Let me go.. Let me go now!" the runt growled, more fear in his voice than anger. "I'll not abide by this! Not at all!" He growled, focusing on his fingertips and trying to conjure the ice dagger that Borka had shown all three boys to make. It was jotun magic, something even warriors used, so a vitki should have been able to do it with ease is what Borka always said, and it made the runt so frustrated when all the spell did was numb his fingers.

"Stupid freak. Half breed even… I don't know why father suffers you living in Jotunheim, freak." Hel said, laughing as he lifted the runt up, letting him dangle by the grip on the boy's ankles.

The runt gulped as he looked down, seeing that he was over a chasm of some sort, which meant they had come quite far from the city. "What… what do you mean half breed?" he asked, hoping to calm the larger jotun and avoid being dropped into the deep, dark chasm.

"Your eyes, freak… and your hair. No true jotun could look like you, runt." Helbindi said, laughing to himself as he swung the runt back and forth, enjoying seeing the fear and nervousness in the boy's eyes. "You're some kind of half breed that father suffers only because you're useful… only you're not useful at all. You eat our food, and take Borka's time away from training Bylestir and myself. You're useless and don't belong here, freak." With that Helbindi let go, and the half Aesir child screamed as he fell into the dark chasm, his voice becoming silent as he began to bounce down the sharp edged rocky wall.

XXX

Notes: Cliff hanger? Kinda… more like cliff dropper *snickers* Anyways… welcome to chapter to of Ember, and please enjoy my tormenting of dear Child!Jotun!Loki. (in case you couldn't tell who the runt was :3 ) Please let me know what you think, and I'm working on a chapter of Fiery Spirit next.

Jotun and Jotnar, I'm using the former as singular, and the latter as plural. Loki is three years old in this at the begining, don't ask how he survived on his own because that will be revealed next chapter. He's the equivalent to twelve years old when Helbindi drops him into the chasm, Helbindi is the equivalent of ten, a jealous spiteful ten. Loki will age a little differently from either Jotnar or Aesir children.

Please, please let me know what you think of this?


	3. Tinder

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Chapter two

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It was darker than usual when the child awakened, moaning in pain even as he heard the gentle whisper for the first time. He frowned, unable to place the voice, if in fact it was a voice at all. There was nothing he had ever heard like it, and he frowned, listening before his eyes blinked open and he looked around for the source of the sound.

What he saw fascinated him, and he looked around in wonder even as he pulled himself laboriously to a sitting position. It was dark, but not as dark as it ought to be, from how far he had fallen when Helbindi dropped him, and there was a green shimmer in the air itself, bright and smelling of something he had never even known could exist. The scent was sharp, and sweet at the same time, not mineral at all. He heard the whisper again, and with a grunt he pulled himself to his feet, following the sound towards where the light was brighter. It seemed at first that he was in some kind of cave, but the more he traveled, the less it looked like a cave, and when he reached the opening where the light was, he looked out in wonder and awe.

He had never seen anything like this before, there was green and brown and light everywhere, and the whispers were coming from the green. Moving toward the source of the most whispering, Loki focused, almost making out words in the rustling and whispering. Closing his green eyes, the jotun child focused, listening hard as he waited to see what would happen.

"Closer… come closer… listen listen listen…" His eyes flew open as he heard the words, and the soft voice in the whispers, almost expecting to see someone by his ear from how all surrounding it had been before he realized that it was the bright greenery talking to him. Nervously, he went forward, following the trail cautiously until he came to something of a clearing.

"H.. hello?" He called, and the whispers seemed to giggle and chuckle at him all at once making the child flush with uncertainty. "Where… where am I? How did I get here?"

"In my boughs…" The whisper was clearer this time and the boy started, still not seeing anyone when he looked around. "I bought you here… Here is in your mind…"

"My mind? I don't understand…" The whispers chuckled again, and a warm breeze blew over the jotun child, and he closed his eyes at how good it felt. "Who.. who are you?"

"Mimameidr… Short lives call me Mimameidr… My favored one…" The voices whispered back, and the boy frowned, having heard that term before, when Borka had spoken it a few times, though he didn't understand why the elder warrior had spoken with reverence when referring to it.

"You… you're… the world?" He asked, confused only to hear the voices laugh again, more mirthfully this time.

"I am all worlds… I hold each seed of life within…" The child frowned again, not understanding it but feeling that it would be explained in time.

"What did you mean when you said we were in my mind?" He asked, looking around again, quite certain that there never would have been anything like this place in his mind since he had never seen anything like it before.

"Too small… too young to come to me… so I come to you… I protect… mine." The whispers took a fierce edge to them, but it was comforting to the youth anyways, and he relaxed, taking a seat on the hard brown ground. "Deep sleep… the deepest alive… allows me to reach you… to teach you…"

"So… this is a dream then?" The child asked, before frowning and shaking his head. "No… this is too real for a dream. Something else then.. Magic?"

"Yes yes yes yes yes…" The whispers all around him crowed the word, whispered it and merged it excitedly in a long, exalted stream of joy. "Mine to teach… my magic… my fire."

"Fire? But fire is evil!" The child cried out, startled and feeling almost betrayed, especially when the voice laughed again.

"No… Fire is life… ice is life… Fire born from ice… mine…" Mimameidr whispered, amused and happy, and the boy was so confused. "Your mark… the symbol of fire… your rune of power… So frail… such a small… spark… Feeding tinder to the spark… gives it strength…"

"You're confusing me…" The boy stated, quite clearly before laying back, so very comfortable where he was.

"Yes…" The whispers chuckled again, and another warm breeze wrapped around the boy, caressing his cool blue skin gently. "But you will learn… mine… my champion… my most favored." He shuddered as the warmth caressed him again, and his eyes closed as his breathing shuddered. It felt so good, and he felt wanted and this Mimameidr accepted him. "Listen… learn… this is how you come back…"

The boy listened… and he learned… and though it wasn't long until he awoke, there was so much more in his mind now.

XXX

The child winced as he stood up, his body covered in scrapes and bruises and his head throbbing, and not just because of all the knowledge Mimameidr had given him. His head had hit the wall as he tumbled, and he had no horns to guard himself. The voices had said that was why he had fallen into a deep enough sleep for her to talk to him for the first time. She had always been there, and now that he knew her voice, the child could think back to all the times he had listened to it to find food, to find shelter and to cause mischief.

He grinned as he found a narrow ledge that led upwards and out of the chasm Helbindi had dropped him into. It was simple work to climb his way up, though painful for all of his scrapes. Still, he could feel himself healing already if he focused on it, the movement of energy beneath his skin where Mimameidr had shown him such wondrous things.

As he pulled himself up over the edge finally, he flopped down on his back, looking up and laughing as he saw the bright stars where the clouds and general storm had cleared away. The bright stars seemed to curl around the sky, wrapping from one horizon to the other in what she had said were her roots and now he could see the patterns of them. He laughed again, his eyes glued to the beautiful sky even as he waited for himself to heal. It didn't matter how long it would take, because he had nowhere to be.

Finally he fell asleep, his legs still dangling over the cliff face and his emerald eyes watching the sky.

XXX

"Wake up… wake up runt." The boy groaned, his emerald eyes fluttering open to look at Bylestr's face as the taller giant knelt over him. "About time… I was worried that Hel had killed you." The larger jotun said, leaning back on his heels as he watched his older brother.

"No… not yet at least…" The runt said, and Byle chuckled, shaking his head.

"He won't. Borka was most displeased with him, and father tanned his rear when he said that you were useless.

"Why would King Laufey do that?" The runt asked, and Byle rolled his crimson eyes at the others question. "No, really. He hates me, even I can tell."

"Because you're useful, even now. He said that you were leverage against the Aesir or something…" Byle said brightly, before standing up. "Since your other parent was one of them."

"All the more reason he hates me…" The runt muttered, turning over and staring listlessly into the distance. "Helbindi told me earlier that I'm a halfbreed… but she said that wasn't so bad."

"She? Who are you talking about?" Byle asked curiously, not understanding the half jotun boy very well at all. "Did you have death dreams when Hel dropped you on your head?"

"Yes… but that's alright." The runt grinned at him, and Byle watched curiously. It was strange to see the smaller boy happy, he was usually skulking and hiding away, trying to do whatever it was that a Vitki was supposed to do according to Borka. "Watch…"

Byle's eyes widened as the runt focused on his hands, a small ball of light forming between them, and he scrambled back. "Sorcery…" His blue skin darkened in alarm even as the runt laughed.

"Yes… Vitki remember? This is what Borka wanted me to learn…" the light dissipated as the runt shook his head and lay back again. "I'm not strong.. not yet, but soon he'll be proud of me… soon King Laufey will be proud of me."

Byle stood and thought as he looked at the older child, before a slow grin crossed his features, seeing an opportunity that Helbindi would never take. "I'm proud of you... brother." One day the runt would be the more cunning and skilled of all of them, and it would be a good idea to get on his good side now, instead of continuing to ignore him, and that was why the young frost giant had shown his approval. That, and the look of joy on the runts face was a truly amazing thing to behold.

XXX

The runt grinned as he ran through the canyons to his place, far from the remains of the jotun capital Utgard. It was a cave, deep in the hills and hidden by curtains of ice. He hadn't put any illusions up yet to hide it, because if he did he could hide the entrance from sight, but anyone sensitive to magic at all would find it even easier. Mimameidr had taught him that much, and his strength was growing steadily though not quickly.

Scrambling into his cave, the runt looked around at the things he had gathered for while he was learning, the bowls of powdered minerals, the bits and twigs of wood for experimenting with fire, and the sheafs of what she had called paper with strange markings that he was trying to learn to decipher. He looked at the runes of the paper, before taking one of his fire twigs and concentrating hard on it. When he felt his magic responding, he murmured the spell to set it aflame, and grinned as the tiny lick of fire went up. He cradled it for a moment, enjoying the warmth and heat it excluded, so very different from the cold and ice of Jotunheim.

Then sighing he put the flames out and while the charred stick was still hot used it to draw markings on his skin. He had practiced each mark a hundred times, and commited their meanings deep into his memory, or at least what he hoped were the correct meanings. Mimameidr hadn't been able to tell him the meanings of each rune, laughing when he begged her to teach him. But knowledge not earned was wasted was all that she had said, and that in order to understand them he would have to discover for himself the meanings.

Grinning brightly as he finished the last rune on his chest, the runt looked down on himself. Since it looked like everything was in order, he sighed, biting his lip before impulsively tracing one more mark onto his arm, something he had seen when last he visited Mimameidr in his mind. Hopefully this would let him focus on actually visiting her, instead of just feeling her mind and hearing her whisper. Closing his eyes, the runt gathered all the power he could to him, before looking around one more time. If he messed this up, he wouldn't ever be able to return, and the other races would destroy him for being away from this world if he couldn't escape them.

Setting aside thoughts of failure from his mind, the runt breathed, words for each rune escaping him before he stepped forward, thinking of the green, warm place that had been his refuge when speaking to his teacher, the great tree where he could hear her voice. When he opened his eyes though, all he saw was darkness and stars.

Nearly panicking, the young half jotun looked around, realizing that though he couldn't see it, there was a path beneath his feet, and when he looked behind him, he could see the dark blue star that was his world. If he listened hard, he could hear Mimameidr's laughter, and he grinned, laughing himself as he took her challenge and stepped forward on the invisible pathway. He followed only his own feet and the sound of her mirth, and it felt like he was climbing to the top of the highest cliff he had ever seen.

Soon sweat was dripping from his head, and his breathing was harsh and labored, but if he stopped now, he knew he would fall off the invisible path and be worse than dead. Her mirth was still there though, and he almost heard her whisper encouraging him, urging him to go just a little further, so he did, closing his eyes and taking the last step.

Only to find himself falling, although when he opened his eyes he realized that he was falling onto the ground, or at least a ground. There was something soft and green, like her leaves, beneath him instead of her branches, and when he looked around he saw taller, growing green things in the distance that looked like she did. "M… mimameidr?" He called out, panic in his heart as he wondered if he had messed up so badly that he would be lost forever. The panic was stilled though as he heard her warm chuckle, and felt the breeze against his cool skin, warming it. Laughing at his own panic, he lay back and looked up at the incredibly bright sky, wondering if the huge ball of light above him was what she had once called the sun.

"You'll have to show me where to find you…" He said out loud, laughing as he heard her whispers, before frowning. "Mimameidr?" The whispers took on a new urgency, and he looked up again, his emerald eyes scanning the sky for the danger the whispers said was there. Nibbling his lip, he looked around, before standing and striding to where the tall trees stood on the horizon, knowing that it would be better to take shelter there than it would be to stay sleeping in the open.

He was so exhausted right now that he couldn't even run if he needed to, let alone repeat the spell that had finally carried him from his home. He was just in time as he got to the shad under the trees, looking up as a huge shadow passed over him, and his eyes widened as he saw the huge thing flying in the skies. It looked like one of the ravens he sometimes saw during his time with Mimameidr, but much larger, with golden and white plumage instead of shining black, and wickedly hooked talons and beak. It was large enough to hold a dozen Jotun warriors along its back, never mind a puny Jotun runt, and the boy shivered as he looked up at it, before sliding down in his hiding spot as his strength bled out.

He was somewhere new, with whole new things that would certainly be trying to kill him as everything on Jotunheim had always tried to kill him, but he was strong and clever and would certainly not be silly enough not to heed the warnings of everything around him. He listened, wondering what all he could do here, now that he was so far away from all that he had known before, and the more he listened, and looked around, the more he wanted to look at everything and poke at anything to take it apart and see what it was.

Careful to stick to the shade under the trees, he began to look around, taking in the new smells and textures and feelings of this place, so very different from the world he had been born in. It felt nicer, better than ever home could have been, and when he looked up and saw brightly colored little ravens, he laughed in delight, watching them flit from tree to tree. Putting his climbing skills to good use, he scaled up the side of one of the trees to look at something some of the birds found very interesting indeed, and he looked into the little nest that he found there, fascinated by the tiny birds until their parents started flapping in his face to chase him away.

When he fell off the branch while trying to avoid their mad dive bombing, he landed laughing instead of crying, and he looked up to where they perched by their nest, scolding him. "I didn't mean to make you angry… I just want to see." He said placating, and the birds stopped their chirping and looked at him for a few moments before chirping once more and turning back to what they had been doing.

Laughing and recognizing a dismissal when he heard one, the runt got up, dusting himself off and looking around for something else to explore. Listening and following his nose, he set out, determined to make the best of his time away from his home.

XXX

Eventually, the runt ran out of energy, and lay back under the shade of a great tree, far bigger than the others, to rest himself. He was hungry, but he didn't know what was food and what was not food here, and he didn't want to hunt the local animals when they didn't seem to be trying to kill him. It was so different than Jotunheim, where everything would try to kill everything else, and whatever was strongest ate the best.

He had thought he w as drowsing when he heard it first, but when he opened his eyes and saw two golden faces not far from his own, he panicked, pulling away and darting behind the huge tree despite their startled cries. "Wait.. we mean you no harm…" One of them called, larger than the runt but not nearly as large as a jotun child. "Come back and play with us." There was a bright smile on the boys face, so different from the cruel grin that would all to often grace Helbindi's features, though not far off from the indulgent look that Bylestr often wore.

"P… play?" He asked, looking between the two boys, taking in their appearance as he wondered what was going on. One was larger than him, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes, while the other was the same size he was, with silver hair and laughing blue eyes. They had the same look about them, with warm golden skin and a similar build. "Wh.. what are you?"

"What do you mean? My name is Baldur, and this is my older brother Thor. We're the Aesir princes, sons of Odin." The slightly smaller silver haired one said happily, and the runt jerked back, hiding behind the tree again, wondering why the boys hadn't simply killed him when he slept for his blue skin. But his skin wasn't blue at the moment, and he frowned looking down at himself and wondering when his skin had adopted this pale tone, not quite the golden of the two aesir boys, but definitely not Jotun blue. Also, his markings were gone, as if washed away by the bright sunlight. "Do… do you not want to play with us?"

The runt nearly jumped out of his altered skin as he looked up at the silver haired boy now hovering over his shoulder. "It… its not that… but… why would you want to… play with me?" He asked, his eyes taking note of the very strange clothes the silver haired boy and his golden haired brother wore. They looked much nicer and more well put together than anything he had ever seen on Jotunheim, let alone the ragged loin cloth that he wore. There were also discolorations on his skin, and though he was the same height as the Aesir boys, he was much, much thinner, and paler now that the silver haired one was closer to him.

"We like making friends… besides… you… you look like you could use it." The silver haired boy smiled brightly, before the other one, Thor, came around the tree, also grinning brightly.

"Indeed, you look most distraught." The older boy said, and the runt tilted his head, watching both golden boys for a moment before Thor spoke again. "We have given our names, it would be polite for you to give your name as well."

The runt laughed, and watched a thundercloud roll through Thor's face though he didn't mean offense, and he calmed his laughter, still staring at the older boy. "I don't mean to offend. As a prince, you are used to people being polite, yes? But I can't be… my father hasn't named me yet."

"But… why not? That is a monumentally unheard of thing to do." Thor said, and both he and Baldur looked aghast at the news that the runt had no name. "Who is your father? I'm certain that our father will speak to him post haste about remedying this."

"No… He can't." The runt said, shadows dancing through his eyes. "Because I do not know who my father is… all I know is that he was Aesir."

"Then our father will certainly know." Baldur stated, his elder brother nodding at his words. "Our father is Odin Allfather, and he knows all Aesir by sight and would certainly know who you look after."

"Look after?" the runt asked, confused as he looked between the two boys.

"Yes. Whoever your father is, you look like him. All children look like their fathers and mothers." Baldur was smiling brightly, although even Thor looked a little confused at his words at the moment. However, his words only made the runt frown more, and his eyes furrowed in confusion at the last word.

"What… what does mothers mean?" He asked earnestly, much to the shock of both boys.

"Your mother is the one who gave birth to you." Thor stated, frowning himself at the honest questions the strange, pale dark haired boy had.

"Oh… I've never heard that word, but I know who you're talking about." The runt said, brightening. "So… your father would know who my father is? And he would be able to make him name me?"

"Of course! Come on, this way." Baldur said brightly, grabbing the dark haired boy's hand and dragging at him to come along, and laughing and caught up in excitement, he did.

Of course, when they got to where the boys's father was waiting, the runt shied back, biting his lip as he looked up at the impressively statured one eyed man. He was tall… not quite as tall as a Jotun, but not much shorter either. Over one side of his face, a golden eye patch hid where he had lost his other eye at some point, and the clothes he wore were much similar to what the boys wore, just as fine and well made.

"What brings you back so quickly my sons, and who is your friend. He doesn't look elfin nor dwarven, which is odd for someone of Alfheim." The large man said, and the runt froze, the voice stirring an old memory, of before Borka took him in, and before he had scavenged for food in the wastes. This man had been there when Laufey left him in the temple… The memory was fuzzy, barely there at all, but it was there, and he wondered briefly, was this his father that Laufey had tried to give him to? This man didn't want him.

"His father is Aesir, Father, and never gave him a name." Thor blurted out, obviously upset by the injustice of such a thing.

"Please Father, can you help him find out who his father is so that he can have a name as well?" Baldur asked, looking up at Odin with bright blue eyes, to which the old man laughed and the runt shrank back even more.

"Hmm… very well, let me take a look at you child." Odin said, rising and striding forward to where the runt hid behind Baldur, who still held his thin wrists. The one eyed man frowned down at the child, taking hold of the boy and turning him in the light, looking a little displeased about something as he looked the youth over. He looked at the boys frame and downturned face for several moments before tilting the boy's chin forward to see his eyes more clearly. "Tell me boy, who is your mother? Who gave birth to you?"

The runt shook his head, drawing back. "I… I'm… I don't want… please don't kill me.." he said, trembling but knowing that it was too late to run away. He was frightened, and scared, and didn't know what to make of the others examination, and he knew there were unshed tears in his bright green eyes.

"Why would I do such a thing? No child, you are definitely of our people, but unless I know the name of the one who birthed you, I cannot know who your father is. Speak honestly, and no harm will come to you."

The runt winced, before looking down. "L… Laufey…" He said, his voice barely more than breath between his lips, the sound carrying nowhere at all, though Odin clearly heard it from the way the man jerked back in surprise. "All… all give birth, and all father children… but a child has no place and no strength until their father names them… that's what she told me… but my father would not name me, and… I was left to Mimameidr's mercy…" His words were still quiet as he waited for Odin to strike him, to hurt him and hate him for being Laufey's child, and a vitki as well.

"I see." Odin finally said, and the runt didn't look up, afraid of what he would see in the Aesir's face. "How did you get here then."

The child shifted nervously, wondering what all it would be safe to tell this man about his teacher, before closing his eyes and listening to the whispers. "She told me how to leave… I was supposed to visit her, but I got tired, and had to stop here to rest."

"Visit who?" Odin said with a frown, and the runt grinned as he heard the rustle of laughter in the breeze through the leaves.

"Mimameidr." The runt said simply, laughing as the wind tickled through his hair. "She said that she holds the seeds of all worlds in her arms and her trunk and her roots."

"Mimameidr… Mimi's tree… The world tree." Odin said thoughtfully looking at the boy, something strange in the old mans features. "What else does she tell you?"

"That I… I'm fire and light, and that I will bring the warmth back." He said softly, before looking away at the sky, the white clouds among the bright blue sky.

"Light and warmth… Good things to hold close. Very well then… for each of my children I asked my wife to read their weave with her Seidr and find their name, but it sounds like Yggdrasil has already read your weave, so your name will be Loki… Loki Odinson." The man said, and the runt gasped, looking back at Odin as he felt something inside of him fall into place, like when he figured out puzzles or how to work with the things that Mimameidr taught him.

"Loki…" The boy laughed, jumping up and hugging the startled Odin with a bright grin. "Thank you, father." He said quietly before letting go of the other and falling back in the grass, laughing despite the one eyed mans startled look, or perhaps even because of it. But then Odin's features softened, and he smiled at the small half Aesir, before looking over to where his sons had withdrawn while he was talking to Loki.

"Thor, Baldur… come meet your brother, Loki." Odin called, and both boys looked startled, but pleased at Odin's words, even as Loki watched them carefully, warily. He hadn't had good experiences with brothers yet… but maybe the Aesir children would be different than the jotun ones.

XXXX

Notes: Good lord… o.o Seriously, I need to start having more ideas for Falling and Fiery Spirit than I do for this… but its so much fun to fuck with young Loki. As you can see, it wasn't Borka who kept Loki alive, also, it wasn't entirely Mimameidr but that's a bit for another chapter. Also, about Helbindi and Bylestr… what can I say. Helbindi isn't too bright, but Bylestr is quite intelligent and willing to do what it takes to stay on everyone's good sides. The warriors all quite like him too because he listens and actually plans, quite the same way Borka plans for the future, but with different ends in mind.

By the way, there are going to be twelve chapter in this, chronicling Loki growing up in both Jotunheim and Asgard with all of his brothers, and then through the events of Thor, though there will be quite a few obvious differences (Baldur for one :3)

Anyways, after that I'm already planning the sequel, tentatively titled Wildfire thats going to be through the events of the Avengers movie, so please try to hang in there with me :3 And don't forget to tell me what you think, reviews give me fuel to write more.


	4. Breath

Chapter Three

* * *

"You can't run around in just a loin cloth." Odin's voice was fairly stern, but he wasn't intimidating to the young runt, and so instead of answering Loki grinned up at him.

"Why?" He asked, mostly curious but also wondering what Odin would allow him to ask about. There wasn't that much that Borka would allow him to ask, and it always seemed like the man refused to explain the things as much as Loki wanted him to.

"Because its indecent to allow so much skin to be seen. Clothing also protects your skin from the elements and will also keep things like all of these scratches from happening." Odin explained, and Loki looked down at himself, at the scratches and bruises where rocks and thorns had caught his legs and arms while he was exploring. It was such a common thing that he always ignored them, and though they were a little painful, they weren't life threatening as far as the child could tell, so he always just left them be.

"Oh.. okay." Loki didn't have any objection to that, though he was curious as to why the Jotnar didn't wear such things if they worked so well. He didn't struggle as Odin showed him how to put on the pants and tunic, nor did he object as Odin took a wide strip of leather and used it to hold the pants in place after they fell down the moment he let go of them.

"You're much smaller than Baldur…" Odin said with a grunt as he stood up from where he had been dressing the child. "Much smaller than any other child of your age…" The elder seemed very sad as he said this, and Loki looked up at him curiously before speaking up.

"Do you have other children too?" He asked, curious and wondering if he could distract the older man as he could sometimes distract Borka, but while he could distract Borka with questions about magic, he didn't know Odin well enough to know if he could ask him those questions.

"Only Thor, Baldur… and yourself." Odin stated, looking confused at Loki's question, and the half jotun tilted his head and thought about it.

"Why? Are there not enough resources for your mate to bear more?" That was why Laufey had only two sons and a runt, and there weren't a lot of other children in Utgard because there wasn't enough food for warriors and growing younglings. According to Borka there weren't a lot of resources any further away from the Jotun capital either.

"No… My wife has chosen not to have more children. It is not her wyrd." Odin explained, a puzzled look on his face even as Loki looked away, towards the fire pit in the middle of the camp that Odin and the boys were currently staying in.

"Wife.. is that another word for mate?" Loki's attention was only half focused on Odin as he looked around, wondering where Odin's mate was. "Is she here to? What is a wyrd?"

Odin seemed confused for a moment before he chuckled, looking at Loki curiously when the youth looked back up at him. "Yes. Among the Aesir, a man in a pairing is called husband, and a woman in the pairing is called wife. Frigg is my wife, and she did not come with the boys and I since I am teaching them how to camp and what to do should they ever become separated from us." The man paused, before looking up and towards where Thor and Baldur had disappeared through the trees, and Loki wondered for a moment if he was done speaking before he spoke again. "As for wyrd… it is what is destined to happen to one."

"Fate." Loki piped up, frowning at the word and closing his eyes. Mimameidr hadn't been loud since he met Odin, but he could still hear her whispers in the back of his mind. "The path one must walk… the points where ones feet must touch the ground… but what happens between foot steps is more interesting…" He grinned, laughing as the concept unfolded in his mind, before looking to Odin again.

He bit his lip as he saw the look on the old mans face, looking away as he felt his skin flush in a way it didn't when he was in Jotunheim. "I'm sorry…" He wasn't sure what he had done wrong, but that was the same look Borka or Helbindi would get before they hit him or chased him away.

"No… no, You've done nothing wrong. I simply wonder how you understand so quickly. It takes Thor much longer to learn, and Baldur rarely asks so many questions." Odin explained, and Loki looked up at him again, biting his lip. "Why are you so curious?"

Loki bit his lip some more, before his eyes began to wander while he wondered at what the answer was to Odin's question. Spotting something on the ground, Loki moved forward, picking up a smooth, golden brown stone and rolling it between his hands. "The more… I find out… the more there is." He laughed, cupping his hands around the little stone before putting it back in the dirt, watching a green tendril and leaves sprout up from the stone as his fingers unfolded and he lifted them away. "Oh… that's why there was life in it." He giggled one fingertip reaching out to stroke along the bright green leaves, before he looked up at Odin again when the older man made a half strangled noise. "I'm sorry.." He said, ducking down again, before watching from under his eyebrows as Odin turned an interesting shade of red.

"You… how did… Seidr? No… is that why you had smudged runes on your arms when… of course…" Loki wondered if Odin had swallowed something bitter.

"They were so I wouldn't get lost." Loki explained, looking up again, before tracing the runes in the dirt beneath him, the same runes he had drawn on his skin before he left Jotunheim. "Protection.. light, or day… its waking up… The sky… a tree… a beacon… and insight…" Loki frowned at the last rune he had sktected into the ground, before looking up at Odin and looking back down at what he had drawn out. That was Odin's rune, which was odd, because he hadn't known that the runes could be about people.

"I… I see. Who taught you these runes?" Odin sounded like he was choking even as he asked the question and Loki tilted his head as he looked down at them again before smudging them out the way Mimameidr had said was proper.

"I find them. I know I don't know all of them yet.. or probably even very many of them." Loki shrugged and was distracted as he saw a crow flutter onto one of the branches high above, and Odin looked up at it as well before motioning to the bird, which began to caw and speak to the Aesir.

"Loki… we'll continue to talk later." Odin said, and the jotun runt was relieved to see a smile on the mans face instead of anger. "For now, why don't you go play with Thor and Baldur… a bit of exploring is bound to be good for you." The old man spoke kindly, and Loki nodded dubiously before looking one last time at the large crow before moving in the direction he had seen the aesir children go in.

XXXXX

Thor and Baldur were trying to catch lizards by the streams bed when Loki found them, and the runt watched them for several moments before moving forward nervously. They had seemed cheerful when Odin said he was their brother, but what if they had changed their mind between then and now?

"Loki! Come join us!" Thor called, the golden haired boy looking up brightly at the darker child. "We're trying to see who can catch the largest lizard." He looked very happy, and Loki smiled tentatively as he moved forward, looking around. There seemed to be a lot of the little creatures scurrying around, and Loki enthusiastically joined in, soon comparing the little creatures he caught with the ones that Baldur and Thor caught. It was startling how well he got along with the aesir boys, and he laughed as much as they did as they scrambled after the little creatures.

It seemed like they hadn't been playing all that long though when Loki looked up, scrambling behind a rock as someone strode out of the trees, though he relaxed as he realized it was Odin. "Gather your things boys, its time to go home." The old man said, smiling at his sons, though both the aesir children made groaning sounds of disappointment.

"But Father, we only arrived a short time ago." Thor protested, and Baldur nodded as well, making Loki wonder exactly how long they had planned on staying here in this place of light.

"We wanted to stay long enough to find the eagles nest." Baldur said, and Loki looked to him before shivering as he remembered the enormous eagle he had seen when he arrived not so long ago to this place. The comment seemed to amuse Odin though, because he laughed heartily at his sons words.

"The Eagle doesn't nest on Aflheim, he roosts in Yggdrasill's branches, not on any of the worlds it bears." Odin stated, and Loki shuddered again, wondering if that was part of why Mimameidr had warned him to learn protective runes before he left Jotunheim. He would be certain to be far more wary when he traveled that way again if that was what he might encounter between the branches. "Now… all of you come help me pack up the camp." Odin said, and the aesir boys grumbled good naturedly as they headed back. Odin paused at the edge of the woods, turning back to where Loki still perched on the rock, one of the mans eyebrows lifting inquisitively. "Come along Loki… you're coming home as well."

Loki bit his lip, suddenly uncertain at what kind of reception he would receive by the aesir, and whether or not Odin really wanted him to come. The man seemed to see right to his uncertaintys though, and smiled kindly as one of his large, warm hands extended towards the dark haired half breed. Loki hesitated only a moment more, mostly because the joy flooding through him at the old mans acceptance was more than he could handle, and he jumped forward, laughter burbling up inside of him as he took Odin's hand, happily following the old man back to where the other boys were already rolling up their bedrolls and pulling at the tent pegs.

XXXXX

Loki made a startled sound, clinging to Odin as the bright light surrounded them, and suddenly they were somewhere else. The great horse that the one eyed Aesir was riding pranced happily into the large room that they arrived in, all four hooves clicking and clacking as it moved through the chamber, even as the smaller, supposedly younger, horses that Thor and Baldur were riding plodded in at a more sedate pace. Instead of riding a pony by himself since he had no idea how, or even if horses would eat him given the chance, Odin had pulled Loki onto his great charger with him, holding the pale young boy close as they made their journey.

Loki was thankful for Odin's stabilizing presence, but he felt so awkward on the horse, like he would fall down at any moment and he was such a long way up. Sure, he had fallen further through harder conditions, and certainly bouncing off of cliff walls was more dangerous than falling off this great creature, but he was afraid that if he fell the huge steed would not see him in time and would trample him while going about his way.

"Hemidal." Odin stated, nodding to the strange eyed man in the center of the chamber they had come in, and Loki forgot his apprehension about the horse as he took in this strange new being. Instead of having golden warm skin like Odin and his sons, this man had deep brown skin, like the bark of a tree, and he wore solid, golden looking armor. Most interesting though were his eyes, which looked almost like fire and Loki drew in his breath as he heard a whisper that this man saw all that he turned his attention to. "Thank you old friend for answering my call so swiftly."

"It is my duty, my liege." Hemidal said congenially, though a brief expression of curiosity crossed his face as he looked to the child in Odin's lap. "Who is this?"

"Loki. He is my son." Odin stated simply, and Hemidal kept his expression for a moment, before nodding, accepting the Aesir kings words. "We must make haste to the Hall." He stated, and the dark man nodded, stepping away from the huge opening on the other side of the strange room they were in, and Loki looked around in fascination even as Odin bought his horse to a swift trot. The ponies of the aesir children followed as well, and Loki looked back one last time as they left the room, looking to Hemidal before turning his attention forward.

The sight before him was nothing like he had seen anywhere else, great mountains rose up out of a sea in the midst of stars, and they were on a bridge leading to a large looking city. There were no walls around the city, like the ruined walls of Jotunheim, but there was an ethereal majesty about the beautiful place. Loki's eyes were everywhere as he tried to look at everything around him.

People wandered the streets, golden and wearing clothing much like what Odin, Thor, and Baldur wore, and they called out greetings to the one eyed king as he rode through the city, many of them pointing to Loki and speaking among themselves even as the pale boy looked at them. Loki strained his ears to catch what they were saying, but he could hear only a few words here and there, and they were mostly a repetition of the same questions. "Who is that boy?" and "I don't know." Were pieced together most often from his hearing.

Finally they rode up to a structure far larger than the other buildings, with towers and spires piercing the sky. It was still under construction, and Loki's eyes bulged as he saw more of the bright golden people building things, with their own hands. No warrior of Jotunheim would ever stoop so low as to build something, but these men seemed to think nothing of it, and a quick glance at Odin's face showed a curious lack of hostility towards the men working.

"Your Highness. Queen Frigg awaits you in the map room." One of the men said, striding forward to take the reigns of Odin's horse as the king dismounted.

"Very well. See to it that my sons learn where their travel gear is to be put away." Odin stated, and the man, who had been working moments before helping carry stones, nodded and looked to the boys, before pausing as he saw Loki.

"And who is this, Highness?" He asked, looking obviously confused.

"My son Loki. He has no gear at the moment, but see to it that he knows where things are as well. Thor, Baldur, when everything is put away, show Loki around then bring him to the map room to meet your mother." Odin instructed, his sons grinning brightly at his words and nodding eagerly, and Loki smiled as well at his instructions, looking forward to seeing and learning more about this place.

"Very well… come along your highnesses, and we'll stop by the quarter master first to put away the supplies, tents and bedrolls, before we go to the stables and put the horses away." The man stated, turning a smile to all three boys, though as he began to lead the great charger away, Loki clung to it for dear life.

XXXX

Thor and Baldur were quite a lot of fun to follow around, both boys seeming to be as exited as the half aesir was to be wandering around almost freely. The boys showed Loki to places called the Hall, the Kitchen, their play room, and the stables, seemingly in no order that the young sorcerer could discern. Finally though, they led him to a great room called the library, with scrolls and books on shelves lining every wall and in bins and shelves that stood along the floor. Off of this large, bright room, were a few smaller rooms, including one that was deemed the Map room.

When the children arrived, it was to see Odin and a beautiful long haired woman speaking quietly over one of the tables. When they looked to the boys, Loki drew his breath in at the sharpness in her eyes, and was immediately reminded of his teacher.

"Mother! We've missed you." Baldur said, Thor concurring as they ran to this beautiful woman, wrapping their arms around her waist. "This is our brother Loki." Baldur said brightly after a moment of hugging her, tugging away and darting out to pull the nervous, dark haired boy closer.

"Loki… yes. My husband informed me of where he found you, and why he claimed you." The woman, Queen Frigg said, her blue eyes almost cool but not hateful as far as the child could tell. "A wild child on Aflheim, with no name and no father." Her voice was cool as well, and Thor and Baldur drew back from her, suddenly as nervous as the new boy they had been showing around.

"Come along boys. I think its best if we let your mother and Loki get aquainted…" Odin said, clearing his throat and ushering the boys out of the small map room though Loki looked to him with pleading eyes, scared to be left alone with Odin's mate.

"You needn't look so frightened child." Frigg said cooly, looking at the waif where he stood, her eyes taking in his thin form drapped in Baldur's too large clothes. Loki couldn't read her face though, couldn't see whether she was going to hit him, or tell him to leave and never bother her and hers again. She had that right, as the King's mate, at least as far as Loki understood it. "Who was your mother, wild child?" She asked suddenly, and Loki drew in a breath as he felt magic gathering in the air, before he grinned, suddenly much more at ease.

It was calming to feel that in the air, though it was far different than the things that Mimameidr was teaching him. Tilting his head to the side he considered the question, knowing he had to answer true, that was what the magic in the air wanted of him. "A drift of snow… one caught aflame." He chirped finally, giggling as he listened to Mimameidr's whisper in the back of his mind, telling him not to be afraid, but not to answer bluntly either.

However, Frigg frowned more deeply, moving to circle around the child and looking at him from different angles before she asked her next question. "And who was your father, Child of Ice." She demanded, her voice still calm and cool as she came in front of Loki again, and he grinned up at her unrepentantly before he answered.

"The light that dances between the great tree's leaves." The boy finally said, feeling the magic in the air coiling again, so much like the power that flowed through Mimameidr, and so different as well. It was far more tame than the forces that his teacher coached him through manipulating, a difference that Loki didn't understand, but also wasn't going to ask about yet.

Frigg paced another circle around him as she considered his answer, watching the dark haired boy carefully, and Loki closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he listened to the calming voice in his mind. "Where were you born, bright one?" She finally asked, and Loki giggled again, his eyes growing glassy as he looked back into dim memory of before Borka had taken him in and started him on the path he now walked.

"In between the living stone, and the dancing darkness." He said, his voice calmer than it had been as he remembered the pillars and darkness, the hunger and need.

"I see… Very well… Thank you for answering my questions child. Come, let us pay a visit to the clothier, and we shall see about getting you clothing more suited to your new status." The queen said, and Loki looked up into her blue eyes, a wide smile on his delicate young features.

"Thank you." He said, feeling the magics dissipating again, and he tilted his head, listening to the dimming murmur of Mimamiedr before speaking again. "Lady Frigg? Will you please teach me the magics that you used?"

The queen paused, startled at the boy's question, but Loki was earnest in his request, and his desire for more knowledge. "I will see… My husband tells me that you already demonstrated a bit of talent for Seidr. Did.. did you sense the flow of strength in the room as I examined you?" There was amusement in her voice now and he nodded, grinning brightly. "I see… Yes, I most likely will teach you some about the crafts of magic in the coming years. For now… come along, before Odin thinks… well, never mind what he might think. Come along." She stated again, reaching forward to take Loki's cool hand in her warm one, and the half Aesir boy smiled brightly, happily trailing after her as she led him out of the Map room.

* * *

Notes: I enjoy writing this, its so much fun to wonder what a young neglected Loki would react favorably to. This is the last chapter of 'introducing Loki' for now, next chapter will take place a handful of years in the future as Thor meets his best friends, The warrors three and Baldur finds his own calling.

If you like this story, or hate this story, or think there's something wrong with any of it, please be kind and let me know about it in a review?


	5. Flicker

Chapter Four

* * *

"Again! Move your feet you lazy little Scruggs." The sergeant called again, and Baldur groaned as he and his brothers moved once more through the steps and motions of the complex looking yet amazingly simple moves that they were being taught. "Loki, extend your reach boy! You've got long arms, use them! Thor, you're reaching too far. Keep it closer to your center of gravity or you'll lose your balance the first time someone looks at you cross. Stop slowing down in your pivots Baldur, speed is strength and momentum."

There was a thunderous look on Thors face, and even Baldur was becoming cross with the constant corrections that sergeant Tyr was giving them. He was becoming more cross that Loki seemed completely unaffected by the harsh words, simply keeping his face neutral as he tried to correct whatever he was doing wrong. They had been at this all week now, doing the same move over and over again, and none of them getting it right at all according to Tyr.

"This does not work!" Thor finally shouted, throwing his wooden sword to the ground as he lost his temper, and Baldur and Loki both sighed. That would be the third time this week, and Tyr would now thrash the crown prince. Or… perhaps not, Baldur thought, looking up as their father cleared his throat from the door, getting the boys attention and their teachers attention.

"Thor… you will come with me now." Odin said stormily, and Baldur shuddered at the cold tone in his fathers voice, seeing Loki do the same out of the corner of his eye. Still stormy faced, Thor moved to his father, clenching his fists but obediently following the elder Aesir out of the training hall.

"You two… Run the perimeter of the wall, then wash off. You're done for today." Tyr said, his voice tight and Baldur nodded, noting the mans cross tone. Both himself and Loki snapped a salute before they turned, jogging to put away their practice weapons, Loki pausing to pick up Thor's discarded sword as well.

"Thor is right…" Baldur said crossly, a short time later as he jogged next to his brother. "Sergeant Tyr is being unfair… to all of us."

"Not so much… I've seen him doing drills with the guards…" Loki said thoughtfully, not very winded yet as they moved. "He's harsher on them than he is on us… And if anyone needs to be able to move well in battle, it's the crown princes…" Loki grinned as he spoke, his emerald eyes flashing. His dark hair was pulled back at his neck to keep it out of the way for training, long unlike the two crown princes who kept their hair shorter.

"He has been just as hard on you." Baldur said, rolling his eyes as Loki laughed again. "Blast you Loki, how is it that you have so much patience? Tyr pushes and pushes and you never lose your temper." His voice was cross, but the silver haired youth didn't care at the moment.

"Seidr." Loki stated, laughing as they came to the end of their jog. "I had to learn patience first before I learned anything else. My first teacher would have had it no other way."

"I still do not understand how you feel no shame to learn… womans magic." Baldur muttered, suddenly supremely embarrassed as he always was when Loki bought up this subject. "Its not right, for a man to learn such things… and still does not explain why you're so willing to bear forbearance while learning the war arts. One would think that if you learn magic you would stick to the hind lines like the women…"

"Learning Seidr isn't the same thing as losing my manhood." Loki stated, and Baldur was proud of himself when he heard the annoyed tone in his brother's voice. "Besides, the more I know the better I can be of help in the future, both to you and Thor, perhaps even Father." Baldur's little bit of good cheer evaporated as he heard the optimism in his brothers voice.

"You lie." He stated simply, shaking his head. "Woman's magics have no place in battle and there is no way that knowing both battle and magic can be of use at the same time… not without abandoning honor."

Loki was silent for a long time, and Baldur started moving towards the palace where he could bathe and put on fresh clothing. He paid no attention to Loki moving in the same direction, assuming that he had made his view clear on this matter at least. "Honor… its so important.. but your lives are more important." Loki said quietly, suddenly speeding up to move past Baldur, and the silver Aesir paused, staring after the strange dark haired foundling claimed by his father, startled at the others words, before a dark look came over his normally clear features.

It was quickly chased away, and he had a bright smile for all the guards and servants he passed on his way to his rooms, but in the back of Baldur's mind, it felt like betrayal for his strange brother to have said that.

* * *

Loki nervously tugged at his tunic, straightening the light green material as he looked around, un-nerved by the crowd of Aesir nobility crowding into the huge hall. This was unexpected, and it seemed that the reason that Odin had pulled Thor from their training session was that this gathering had been planned out only this morning. Hundreds of Aesir mingled in the halls, both adults, and youths only a few years younger than Baldur, and every seeming age in between. Thor had come back chastised after his discussion with Odin, and admitted that they were supposed to be mingling and meeting with the other youths, and it wasn't just boys either, there were a fair number of maidens among them.

There was one in particular that Loki felt drawn to, a lovely girl with golden hair nearly to her knees, but she was already keeping company with Thor and a three of the boys. Judging from the way that she was moving as she spoke, she was asking them about their training.

"Come on, stop lurking in the shadows Loki." Baldur said, and the slighter youth nearly stumbled forward at his brothers hearty greeting, his large hand slapping good naturedly against Loki's back. "Surely you wish to speak with these lovely lasses and try your luck courting them?"

Loki considered it, but only for a moment. "No… perhaps not just yet." He stated, grinning brightly at his brother and friend. "I don't think any of them would really be interested in me when you and Thor are around in any case."

"Well… you mustn't be too hard on yourself…" Baldur said, before biting his lip and shaking his head. "Perhaps you'll meet one willing to teach you to weave." He stated, good humor in his voice and Loki chuckled, forsaking to mention that Frigg had taught him to weave years ago so he could learn Seidr. There was a surprising relationship between the weaving of threads, and the magics the queen wielded. "Come along then… we shall find something to occupy us."

Loki nodded in agreement, straightening his tunic one more time before following his silver haired brother into the crowd of youths and adults. He listened closely around him, sharp ears catching the whispers from the edges of the crowd, even through the raucous laughter from the youths showing off for their maidens. The whispers were more interesting than the youths anyways, Loki decided, grinning at what he heard.

Most thought that this was Odin's way of introducing his sons, even the strange adopted one, to the other youths, the sons and daughters of his vassals and subjects, in the hopes that the boys would become less secular. When Baldur stopped to chat with a few of the youths, Loki kept his attention there, still listening with half an ear to what was going on around him, so he heard the calling before Baldur did.

"Loki… Loki come over here!" Thor was calling, making his way through the crowd and pausing only to grasp Loki's arm. "I've told my new friends about your magic, and they are most interested to see. Especially Lady Sif, she seemed most interested. Perhaps because she is your opposite, learning the men's arts of battle." Thor laughed loudly at that, and Loki chuckled himself, more than ever intrigued by the possibility of a woman going into battle as much as a man did.

The separation of the genders that the Aesir insisted on were still sometimes strange to him, even after growing from child to youth among them. Surely this girl Thor spoke of would be intriguing beyond a doubt.

Walking away, Loki didn't notice the brief expression that flitted across Baldur's face, there and gone before anyone less quick of wit would know about it.

"Loki, these are Fandral, Volstaag, and Hogun, as well as the Lady Sif. Warriors three, and Lady Sif, this is my brother Loki, who learns magic." Thor said brightly, and loudly, obviously proud of his brother as he introduced him to his friends, and Loki felt a small glow of warmth in him that Thor recognized him.

"It is my honor to make your acquaintance." Loki said, bowing respectfully to the group of youths, a twinkle in his eye as he took 'Lady Sif's' hand and gently brushed his lips to her knuckles. There was a calculating look in her eyes, even as Loki stepped back, to a proper distance from her and the boys, though he stayed near his brothers side.

"You… look strange. And that is in comparison to Hogun here." The dark haired golden skinned boy in question merely raised his eyebrow at the girl when she spoke, before rolling his eyes. There was something akin to a grin on his face though that made it seem as if this teasing was in good nature and long standing. "Why would you try to learn Seidr if you have the strength to learn battle?" The girl asked, and Loki laughed lightly, keeping his mirth in face of the question.

"Fair Lady, I… I do not rightly know if I can explain it." Loki started, glancing at the three boys who seemed curious as well, though they hadn't spoken to the dark haired foundling yet. "It has to do with knowledge. I want to know more, and the more I know, the more interesting the universe becomes. For example, weaving." Loki grinned, grasping the teasing his silver haired brother had given to him before for his explanation. "Did you realize that when weaving the threads of a loom, one can also learn to weave the air around themselves to cool them or their friends on a hot summer day? Or to weave water with fire to create a helm of nigh indestructible concentrate? It doesn't last long mind you, the water evaporates and the helm becomes just fire which is quite disconcerting when still wearing it because then ones hair catches fire, but it could provide crucial protection at just the right time, do you see?"

"But why learn the battle arts at all then? Why not just learn your magic and be done with it?" Volstaag asked, the large boy seeming to be honestly confused.

"Indeed, if its truly so superior to battle, why not just stick to your seidr and leave the fields of war to those more suited." Fandral asked, scorn in his voice and a sneer on his features, and Loki had to bury the tiny seed of hurt the others words caused. Instead, he cloaked it in laughter, shaking his head, even as Thor bristled beside him. The golden Aesir wasn't concerned about the insult itself, Loki knew from experience, but rather the tone in which it was delivered.

Nevertheless, Loki could deal with this on his own, and Thor had already heard his argument about it. "Seidr isn't BETTER, its simply different. The flow and movements of the battle arts are exhilarating in their own right and serve the purpose of beating your opponents far more easily than resorting to magic for everything. That, and Magic is far more limited because of the speed it takes to set things up. It takes just as much effort to say carry a boulder the size of say, Volstaag up a mountain by hand as it does by magic. I think you would agree that would be quite a bit of effort." There was still good natured laughter in Loki's voice, and even Hogun seemed impressed by his argument, and the fact that he wasn't defending one or the other discipline in deference.

"A well thought out and very pretty argument." Lady Sif said, and Loki looked to her, catching the calculating look in her eyes as she spoke. "But surely one must come more easily to you than the other?"

"Of course." Loki stated, making no move to deny the fact. "Seidr work and magic are first to my hand. I'm too small and ungainly to make a true warrior though I learn all I can of the arte." He admitted, making Thor laugh beside him.

"Small and ungainly he says, yet still quick as a snake. I sometimes think his speed is a match for fathers favorite horse, Svadilfari." Thor stated, laughing brightly, and Loki rolled his eyes at being compared to the enormous charger. Given the horse in question was tremendously strong and fast, but it was still a less than flattering comparison.

"So speed is needed in battle then?" Lady Sif asked, and Loki looked to her with bright eyes, wondering why no one else would simply tell her to follow her choice and learn the battle artes she wanted so obviously to learn.

"Of course, you could as Tyr or any of the warriors really and they would say the same. Speed and momentum are strength and edge." Loki stated, remembering that morning and the horrendously complicated move that Tyr still had them working on. "I'm not as proficient at it yet… but… well come watch." Loki stated, reaching out and taking Lady Sif's hand and leading her towards the nearby training grounds, trusting Thor to bring the three warrior lads as well. He could hear his brother laughing about Loki's eagerness, and all but taste the smirks on the boys' faces as he pulled Sif to a less crowded corner of the training grounds.

When he demonstrated the move, Lady Sif was only mildly impressed, one delicate brow arching as she watched him finish it. "Passable I suppose… your body is too long to make the whole of it practical…" She said, before grinning and flowing into the move herself and Loki laughed as he saw her do it in what looked to be perfect grace to him, and he had seen Tyr demonstrate the move often enough for him and his brothers to be an acceptable judge.

"Amazing… you're faster than I am, Fair Lady… Would you perhaps be willing to spar with me a bit?" Loki asked, intrigued by her movements and eager to see if she was as skilled as she looked, but she looked away blushing deeply instead as the three boys she had been with laughed.

"She has no official training…. She would be useless in an actual fight." Fandral stated through his mirth, and Loki only grinned, keeping his eyes on the fair haired girl.

"Indeed?" Loki asked, as much challenge as showmanship in his voice, and he saw the spark in her eye as she glared at him. The raven haired youth let mischief sparkle in his emerald eyes, and he winked, grinning as winsomely as he could, because he truly was intrigued by the idea of a maiden warrior. If she could even keep up with him a little, he would beg Tyr to train her with himself and his brothers. It would be glorious to have someone as out of place as him, and it would be fun to get to know this lovely maiden, even if as he suspected they wouldn't get on in that way. He had seen the way she looked at Thor since his brother had come to get him, and he had seen the admiration in Thors face as well, but they could at least be friends.

She must have seen something in his eyes that made her willing to accept his request, and the smirk she gave him, both in response to his challenge and Fandral's made him smirk back. "What weapons would be your choice, My Lord." She asked, a lilt in her voice teasing and challenging in a way that Loki found he liked very much.

"Well… I'm best with short sword and daggers… but I think that in this case at least, the Lady should have the say." Loki's tone was slightly condescending, but the twinkle in his eye was all mischief.

She took the challenge and pulled two wooden short swords after tying her long hair back. By now they were gathering a small crowd of the youths, most of them thinking this would be a mock battle where Loki would teach the fair maiden that battle wasn't for her.

When she began to move, it became apparent that whatever her gender, her natural skill with the practice blade was very nearly equal to the dark haired princes, and though his footwork was more clean, hers was more direct. The match lasted only a short while, Loki didn't mean to let it drag on, but she truly was a match for his determination, and nimble enough to keep him from gaining the upper hand.

Of course, it would be a scuffle between Baldur and Thor that would distract Loki long enough for the match to end, though Loki found himself letting out a full throated laugh as he found himself pressed to the ground with Lady Sif's wooden sword pressed to his chest, and his own practice weapon far out of reach. Her knee in his gut kept him from rolling away anyways and going after it, though the furious roar from the crowd soon had the other youths pulling them away from each other.

To be honest, Loki was too busy grinning at the disheveled Sif, who grinned right back, to really care what his father was yelling at him. It wasn't until Odin had stopped yelling and demanded what Loki's explanation for himself was that the dark haired youth turned his attention to his father, grinning unrepentantly.

"Your Highness… I beg leave to train with your sons in the arena." Sif said, speaking up before Loki could decide the best course of action, and the dark haired boy chuckled at the fresh out roar and shouting that went through the still gathered youths and now adults as well who had crowded around to see what was going on.

"She's brilliant. I think she could give Baldur and Thor a run for their training as well, and Sergent Tyr would love having her around… Her form is far better than mine." Loki spoke up, and Odin glowered at him with his good eye. No matter how Odin glowered though, Loki had long learned that his father would not strike him in anger, and always listened to what he had to say.

"Is that why you've been running off instead of taking your lessons, Sif." Tyr himself asked, pressing through the crowd, a severe disapproving look on his face, even as the girl in question stiffened, looking down for the first time much to Loki's confusion.

"Yes Father…" She said after a moment, and Loki felt his eyebrows rising into his hairline as he looked back and forth between his burly combat instructor, and the petite, beautiful girl who had just laid him flat. "I want to be a warrior, a shield-maiden instead of helpless. I will not back down from a challenge I can win, and I will not be held back from my desires so long as I have the strength to follow my goals."

After a long moment, Tyr spoke again. "We will discuss this in another place." He said, his voice cold and hard though his eyes didn't leave his daughters face until she nodded, a hot flush spreading across her cheeks.

"As for you Loki Odinson, I think it would perhaps be best if we discussed this elsewhere. Your father will deal with your brothers while we speak." Loki flinched at the desolate tone in Lady Frigg's voice, wincing as he realized he had been so caught up trying to comb his mind to discover how he had not known that Tyr had a daughter, let alone such an interesting one, that he had not heard his step-mother approach him.

"Of course, mother." Loki said brightly, turning his cheeky grin to the Aesir queen who merely gave him a look that clearly stated how very unimpressed she was. Nevertheless she led him away from the gathered crowds, and down the hallways away from the banquet hall. It wasn't until they were in Lady Frigg's sitting room that the Queen spoke, turning to watch Loki as a now familiar spell wove its way through the room, a compulsion to tell the truth.

"What were you thinking, challenging a maiden to combat." She demanded, clearly furious, and Loki shifted, very uncomfortable. Still, as was his custom, he thought hard about the answer before he spoke, knowing that he had to tell the truth, but still persuade her to understand why he had done what he had.

"She… she was being teased. Thor said she mentioned that she wanted to be a warrior, and I wanted to see if she would suit." Loki stated, frowning. "Then the other golden haired boy said she couldn't… I wasn't going to deny her a chance to prove that one wrong." He looked at the Queen, standing by his actions, and wasn't expecting her to sigh and droop so suddenly, as though a string holding her up had been cut.

"Loki… you were just beaten in a sparing match by a maiden barely any older than Baldur." The queen stated, weariness in her voice and posture. "You must realize what the court will be saying about you come morning, or even before the festivities end for the night tonight. They will say that you are weak, and unable to beat a mere girl, and that you do not pay proper attention to your studies because you learn magic as well. This will make it three times as hard for you to feel at home here, son of ice." She elaborated when Loki was merely confused, though he smiled widely at the term of endearment she used for him.

"It's all right, mother." Loki stated, moving forward and Taking the queen's warm fingers between his cool ones. "Soon enough they will be saying how impressed they are that I lasted so long in a bout with her, believe me. She has talent and however she gained it she has some skill as well."

"You're taking this far too well… for having done something so very foolish." The queen stated, her tone between impressed and disappointed, and Loki found himself chuckling mirthfully again.

"Mother, she will be one of the greatest warriors to ever grace the halls of Asgard." Loki stated, feeling a deep certainty in himself as he spoke. "IF she gets the training she so obviously desires. It would be so very unfair of me to deny her that when I learn Seidr despite tradition myself."

"Indeed… I hope you realize what you are getting into, my son." The queen said, shaking her head, and Loki had to laugh again, enveloping Lady Frigg in a warm hug.

* * *

After Loki and Sif were dismissed from the gathering, things would most likely have been forgotten if not for the fact that early the next morning, Loki had woken to the angry and frantic pounding of someones fists upon the door of his room. The servant who looked after him didn't come till mid day, when Loki was firmly in lessons, and he had had this small room to himself since he had come to Asgard to begin with. He had requested it, after Lady Frigg had tried to have him room in the same kind of room that belonged to both Thor and Baldur, great sprawling rooms with large beds and chests of toys belonging to the two princes. Loki didn't want nearly that much, because it would be far too much to keep track of, and had instead requested something smaller, citing nightmares of being so exposed in the larger room. If anyone asked him now, he would say he had lied so he could get a bedroom closer to the library, but at the time the nightmares of being so exposed and waiting for Helbindi to show up or any of the Aesir to realize he didn't belong had been so vivid.

But none of that was good to dwell on as the frantic pounding on his door continued, and glancing out the window Loki sighed, realizing it was not yet even dawn and he had only gotten to sleep a few short hours ago after working on a particularly difficult problem with weaving water and fire to make a helm. He pulled on his sleeping robe, and then opened the door, yawning widely before looking into the angry, almost nigh unrecognizable face in front of him.

"How dare you!" She hissed, and Loki blinked in surprise and shock as he recognized the young woman before him as Lady Sif. "How could you do this to me! You were the one who egged me on, you shouldn't have taken it in such nature if you were.. you… why!" She wailed, and Loki gapped at her, shocked. Her lovely golden hair was black and rough, and instead of being long as it had been just the night before, it was shorn in hanks, as if cut with a knife instead of proper clippers.

"What do you… I would never!" Loki gasped, aghast that she assumed he had done it.

"I know you did! Baldur told me that he had seen you leaving my room an hour before I awoke, and who else would have cause or reason to…" Sif sobbed, torn between grief and pain and anger. "I hate you, you horrible Liar… I hate you.. Fix it now! Undo what you have done now!"

"Oh Sif…" Loki bit his lip hard, thinking fast. He had been nowhere near the guest wing of the palace, in fact he had been listening to Mimameidr all night and working on his flame helm, but he doubted that Sif would believe that. Still, he could try to undo this, if nothing else.

"Come in here… no, leave the door open, I shudder to think what Mother would think if we were alone in a closed room… Tell me… was your hair damp when you awakened? And was there any trace of color on your pillows?" Loki asked, pulling two books from the shelves where he stored the books given to him as gifts by his brothers and Lady Frigg, as well as the books he borrowed from the royal library. Each of them was a magical text of some kind, and the two he had now were illusion and herb lore.

"No… you would know, my hair was dry and the pillows… they were just as they were before I slept." Sif said sourly, and Loki pressed the herb lore book away, and flipped through the illusion one. "Stop pretending you didn't do this, and undo it… the color at the very least… its.. its horrible." She sobbed, sitting down at the chair to Loki's small desk.

"Sif… I would never have done this… I was looking forward to sparing with someone more patient than Thor and more interested than Baldur." Loki said earnestly, frowning at her, before shaking his head. "I don't know anyone else at court who could have done this though… None of the court magicians are so swift with illusion spells, and Mother would never have done this at all."

"Liar… you have to be lying…" Sif continued to sob and Loki shifted nervously before returning the tome in front of him. What he needed to do now was find a spell to detect if it was illusion or not, because he could sense no magic about the girls head, but if she said her hair was dry when this was done and there were no powders or coloring about her when she woke, then it couldn't be the herbs.

"Hold still, okay.." Loki said, setting the book down in front of her and cautiously reaching forward to stroke his fingers through her now short fine hair. When he drew his fingers away they were dry, and when he scented them he could still detect none of the signs of herbal dye. Going to the shelf where he kept his practical tools, he pulled out a vial of dust that it had taken him days to refine, taking only a few fine powders on the end of a tiny brush before coming back over to Sif. He then brushed the few powder crystals over a few strands of her hair, then bit back a curse of disappointment as he could detect no change in the powder. He knew it worked, he had tested it on the magic of four different magic users, his mother, two court magicians, and a bit of runic magic that the blacksmith had let him try it on.

"This… I need to go to the library… how quiet are you?" Loki asked, looking out the doorway.

"Very quiet… I had to be to sneak around papa and get to the practice gear." Sif said, pride still in her voice despite the waver in it.

"Come then… follow and don't be seen." Loki stated, before leading the way silently down the halls and sticking to the shadows as he led her to the library. He had always visited the great room of knowledge at all hours of the day and night, ever since he had learned to read and discovered that if he was quiet and didn't put things back where they didn't belong, the librarians didn't mind him perusing all of the books on magic and fighting he could reach. He settled Sif at one of the tables before searching through the books.

Several hours later, as the librarians came in from their breakfast, Loki had a small stack of books in front of him and Sif was crying into her arms, her head bowed over the table. "I'm so sorry Lady Sif." Loki said, feeling heartbroken that he couldn't help her. "I.. I may at least be able to… to even out the length." Loki offered, looking at the hanks and shorn patches around her head.

"No… No more of it is going to be cut off…" Sif said stubbornly, looking up at him with almost jotun red eyes from how long she had been sobbing. Her complexion, clear and smooth the night before was flushed and splotched with rage now, and sorrow. Still, Loki had to grin, laughing lightly as he tugged on of the books around to face her. She had already told him of her upset at waking to find her golden tresses laying around her in the bed, and her anger at seeing the raven wing black in the mirror. She maintained that it was a horribly ugly hair color, not to her liking at all, and Loki didn't let on the hurt he felt when she spoke thus.

"I do not have to cut it any further… see? I can grow it… not far, but at least past your ears… it would look like a boys cut… but it would be cleaner than… I am sorry… Truly…" Loki said, looking at her hair. It had been truly lovely, and he honestly felt horrible that he could think of no way to turn it back to the golden blond it had been before.

"Do it then… anything is better than having it shorn like this, in hanks like a common criminal." Sif said, drying her eyes and looking to Loki with determination. "I… I do not think I can forgive you though… I suppose I believe you when you say you did not do this… but I think it would not have happened if you had not drawn me into sparing with you."

"Most likely not… for that I am sincerely remorseful. If… if it would make you feel better, please, feel free to tell people that this is my fault…" Loki knew that his brother at the least would thrash him soundly, but he couldn't help her fix this, to at least get her original hair back, so he would deserve it.

"I… I might…" Sif said, and Loki nodded, accepting this even as he read through the spell to lengthen the hair. A short time later, it was done, her hair was… well, more even, and about the length of the nape of her neck.

"If… if its any consolation, I think this is lovely to… just as lovely as the golden…" Loki offered as Sif walked away, and the girl turned towards him, spite in her eyes as she rejected his words.

"No… its no consolation at all to be liked by a black haired pale freak Seidr user."

* * *

It was no surprise to anyone when three days later, Lady Sif joined Loki, Thor, Baldur, and the Warriors three at their training under Sergent Tyr. It was however a surprise that she didn't hold a grudge against Loki for doing this horrible thing to her, going so far as to tell the others that she and he had already worked out his reparation.

* * *

Please let me know what you think of this, I thrive on feedback. Please feel free to pop up ideas of what kind of trouble Loki, Baldur, or Thor and his friends should get up to, Ive only got ideas for a few more chapters before I'm going to have to fast forward to the events of the mvoie and how they change with these new circumstances.

Also, movie!verse Loki: Who should he end up with in a romantic pairing? I'm rather fond of slashing him with Stark, but I also plan on keeping things closer to the movies interpretations... meaning Tony is with Pepper. I could easily see him with Hawkeye, Banner or Coulson, but if you think he would look/get along with better/torment more easily someone else, please let me know. I'll even consider females if the pairing makes sense.


	6. Douse

Chapter Five

* * *

The frozen winds howled as the child darted from rock to rock, working his way back to where he had left his supplies. He almost laughed out loud at how simple it had been to play such a complicated prank, but now was definitely not the time to take pleasure in his work; first he needed to get somewhere safe from retaliation, preferably back on Asgard or even Aflheim so that his brothers couldn't catch up with him.

"Danmit RUNT!" The scream of frustration was distant, but Loki delighted in Helbindi's voice, knowing that the younger Jotun wouldn't catch up to him.

His youngest brother was a completely different matter though and he only realized that as he crashed almost headfirst into Bylestr's chest. "What's the hurry, brother?" The larger frost giant asked, and Loki tugged at his grip experimentally to see if he could slip away without magic before deciding he couldn't.

"Well… I may have turned Hel's horns pink…" Loki admitted, and Byle laughed, tugging Loki to behind another outcropping though he didn't release his grip on the smaller youth yet. Instead, he took the opportunity to look Loki over, and the Vitki Jotun shifted nervously, wondering what conclusions the prince was coming to.

"You seem to be doing very well… I was worried." Byle said, and Loki looked at him almost incredulously. "You disappear so completely when you've the mind to it… and it's been almost half a year since your last appearance, and don't think I've forgotten that you turned my stave into a snake…" Loki flinched, but the younger's voice was teasing not accusatory, and so he risked a grin at the larger being.

"I have been doing well…" He admitted cautiously, wondering how his Jotun little brother would react to knowing that Loki had been freely traveling between the worlds for decades, not just staying in some remote and impossible to find hidey hole on Jotunheim. "I'm learning in leaps and bounds…" He bit his lip, looking away, even as he saw Byle's face tighten.

"But who are you learning from?" The frost giant mused, his question deadly serious though Loki had no intention of being honest about it.

"Mimameidr." Loki stated with a laugh, looking up at his little sibling.

"Stop being mysterious or I'll keep hold of you until Helbindi arrives." Byle said, his tone shifting dangerously towards cross. "Where do you go when you disappear from the Hall for so long?"

"Elsewhere." Loki stated without remorse or hesitation, he had been learning so many things about misdirection and winning without having to fight anyone, mostly from the dark elves who were always happy to try to swindle or manipulate one of Odin's sons. "I… I go elsewhere, and I have teachers…"

"You found your Aesir father." Byle stated, interrupting what Loki was saying, and the half breed blanched, suddenly scared as he realized how cold the larger frost Giants tone was, and he flinched, wondering if Byle was going to kill him for not staying faithful to Jotunheim.

"Yes… My name is Loki." He finally said, looking into Byle's eyes as he spoke, at least wanting that bit of honesty between himself and the Jotun brother who didn't hate him. Much to his surprise though, instead of being upset, Byle grinned at him brightly.

"Good, and I'm glad to meet you, Loki Laufeyjarson." Byle said, and Loki laughed, wondering suddenly why he had been so nervous. "Just one question, how did you find out who your father is?"

"Mimameidr… she showed me how to leave Jotunheim and I met him… rather by accident really." Loki admitted, grinning brightly. He was surprised by the look that suddenly overtook Byle's eyes as he spoke though, a longing and want that the younger Jotun couldn't disguise fast enough.

"You… you can leave this place? Tell me about it… tell me about everywhere you've been." The larger male asked, and Loki nodded, a smile on his face as he and the other settled in comfortably to talk.

"I went to a place called Vanaheim first… I had meant to visit my teacher, in a place of light…"

* * *

"I don't understand… if this warrior is still angry at you over his hair, why do you not simply create something to cover it up?" Byle asked, several hours later as they lay in the ice, both staring up into the ghostly branches of the world tree lighting the night sky.

"My skills aren't yet strong enough to create something suitably elegant to make it up to her. And she's a maiden, not only a warrior, so it would be something of an insult to give her a helm to cover her head." Loki explained, sighing. "If I could, I would make it up to her… she's truly beautiful and cunning, it hurts to have her so cross with me."

"Well… in that case why not find a craftsman who can create something for him… a hairpiece perhaps or a powerful weapon?" Byle said, rolling to his side and looking over to the smaller Jotun. "I've heard stories that the dwarves craft amazing weapons and that the elves can make other things… something like that might work out better?"

"Her, Bylestr. Among the Aesir warriors and not child bearers are divided by gender… and that's not a half bad idea, but I'm not sure what I could barter with to have something like that crafted…" There was a deeply thoughtful look on Loki's face as he spoke, and he sat up, placing his hands on his knees as he thought about it. "I… I suppose I could ask the dwarves… It shouldn't be too hard to find one to make a golden wig… and perhaps something for you as well, my clever brother." Loki said, shy with his last words though he was bold with his speech.

"No need for that…" Byle said, laughing loudly as he stretched and stood up. "I need to return to the palace before dawn… but... there is something I would have you do for me… I'll try to give you good ideas whenever I can if you promise to bring me stories, news and understanding of the other worlds."

Loki frowned for a moment, before grinning brightly, looking up with pure mischief in his eyes. "I'll do better than that… I'll take you with me to meet the dwarves when the time comes. Be ready to travel in three days…" He promised, not waiting for Byle's answer as he pushed himself to his feet and hurried to get back to the cave where he always left his things when he visited the world of his birth.

"What… Loki... are you mad!" Byle called after him, but the prince was answered only by his brother's laugh on the wind.

* * *

Loki poured through the books in the Aesir library, deep night hiding his movements, though a soft glamor had also kept the head librarian from making him leave as night fell. Contracts and barters were his only leverage in what he wanted, for there was little else that he could offer the dwarves to compel them to help him create what he wanted made. There were ways though to get what he needed, and if he took the time he could gather what was going to be necessary. He would bring Byle with him, but he needed someone else who was clever as well…

"What are you doing in here so late?" Loki nearly jumped out of his skin as a large hand landed on his shoulder, only to clutch his chest and try to disperse his panic as he recognized his silver brother Baldur.

He gave the other boy a wide grin, remembering that though Baldur's shoulders were broader than his, the silver Aesir was as inquisitive and quite nearly as clever as Loki. "I'm looking for a suitable gift… I want to get something made… please don't tell anyone, but I want to get some gifts for my friends."

"What friends Loki?" Baldur asked cautiously, and the darker boy chuckled, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"Well… Thor, The warriors, and Lady Sif for starters… I have other friends as well in different places…" Loki felt his cheeks warm as he listed names, and he looked away even as Baldur laughed lightly in the cool shadows of the night.

"You've got your eyes set on that Lady Sif still, don't you? Why? She looks so... well..." Baldur's voice wasn't teasing, but it wasn't unkind either as he spoke, and Loki relaxed even as he tried to hide his uncertainty.

"She's brilliant still… and she's still upset with me over her hair, so I'm hoping… well, I'm hoping that if I give her a suitable gift… she won't be so cross with me." Loki murmured, dithering slightly. "I want to present the gifts by winter's solstice… Not just for Lady Sif, either."

"So you're hoping to earn the Lady's favor by presenting her with a fine gift? Why are you so eager to look into… dwarven contracts then?" Baldur asked, looking at what Loki was leafing through.

"Well… the dwarves are the finest craftsmen in all the realms…" Loki stated, grinning widely at his younger brother, which caused the silver haired youth to laugh out loud. "Baldur, please… will you help me in this endeavor? You're the second cleverest person I know after Father, I'm certain you could help me get what I need…"

"Well… yes, I'll help… under one condition. We tell Father and Hemidal before we leave." Baldur stipulated, and Loki's grin brightened at his brother's acquiescence.

"Done and done…" Loki grinned brightly, reaching his arm forth to clasp his brothers and seal their own deal.

* * *

"No…. and that's all there is to it, Loki! I don't care if you do think you have something they would want, I won't hear of it at all." Odin growled, standing intimidating by the hearth.

"But father… I already have what they would want from such a transaction, and if need be I can..." Loki almost growled himself as he was cut off by Odin's next words.

"I don't care. Dwarves are dangerous, almost as dangerous to barter with as elves, never mind whatever else you think you can deal with. You're too young to play those kinds of games. Give yourself a few more centuries at least before you attempt something that dangerous." Odin growled, and Loki stilled, rage kindling in his chest as Odin spoke.

"Too young… you mean half as old as Baldur by my blood… by the curse of my heritage…" Loki said quietly, never mind that his younger brother was out in the hall listening in.

"Loki…" Odin seemed to deflate as he sat back down in the chair, the room going quiet save for the cackle of the flames in the hearth. "Its… it's the curse of being half blood… and I'm sorry that you have to bear it…"

"I'll age either twice as fast as my shortest heritage… or thrice as slow as my longest… I've read the legends and I've spoken with the other half Aesir…" Loki's voice was barely a whisper, barely as loud as the flames in the hearth.

"Its so hard to tell…" Odin sighed as he looked at his son. "Both myself and… and your mother are immortals, so I have no idea if you're still a child, or nearly elderly…"

"A child obviously…" Loki growled, rolling his eyes. "But father, I can do this. Yggdrasill has taught me so much already, and I know what I need, and who can help me pull this off."

"Then you're far, far too young to attempt such a thing… who all did you have in mind anyways to help you with this?" Odin demanded, and Loki grinned, his eyes lighting up as he laughed.

"Bylester Laufeyjarson and Baldur Odinson." Loki stated, making sure that his voice carried only to his fathers ears with a touch of the magic that was his blood. "They're both clever and strong, and no other can help me so well as they can."

"So… you are friends with your brothers… I wondered…" Odin stated and Loki sighed, shaking his head.

"No… I'm Byle's friend… I'm still quite certain that Hel will kill me if he catches up to me again… and of course I'm friends with Baldur and Thor. I think of them as my closest friends." Loki growled at Odin's question, feeling almost scandalized as he realized that Odin didn't quite believe him.

"Still… be careful Loki… You aren't the only clever one out there… you'll need to be more careful than you realize yet…" Odin said quietly, and Loki sighed, running one pale hand through his dark hair.

"I think… I think I realize more than you know, father… I can take care of myself, Mimameidr has taught me how." Loki stared at his hand, not looking up at Odin. "I wear… I'm not who I look like, and everyone can sense that… Even here, where magic is so rare… Father, please. I want to do this for them… for everyone who accepts me as I am."

"You say they accept you, but you hide so much from them." Odin said, sighing softly, and Loki had to chuckle, making his father look at him in surprise.

"I may hide what I am… but I don't have to hide who I am. If they don't know everything about me, they do know who I am and that's enough." Loki stated, proud despite himself. "Please father…"

"Fine… If I can't dissuade you, you're going to do it anyways, aren't you?" Odin asked, sighing at his son's unrepentant grin. "Very well… under one condition, you remain safe and no one else is put in danger… well, two conditions, let Hemidal watch you at all times."

"Thank you father." Loki said, brightly, exited as he jumped forward and wrapped the startled Odin in a hug before darting from the room, pausing only long enough to motion for Baldur to follow him.

* * *

"Who is this mysterious friend you have to fetch again? And why do you want me to wait here?" Baldur asked, one silvery brow raised as he looked at his brother in the shade of afleheim's trees.

"Byle… he's my closest friend after my teacher… since before I even met you and Thor I've known him…" Loki said, features alight with mischief and happiness. "You'll like him, he's clever and strong too and can help us, but he's… well, he's very private… he's never left his home, before, and he might not come if I can't talk him into it…" Loki sighed, looking down and biting his lip for a moment.

"Afraid your quick tongue might fail you?" Baldur asked, and Loki chuckled again, suddenly jovial once more.

"You're the silvertongue, remember? Don't worry… I'll be back very soon." Loki didn't wait for Baldur's answer as he headed into the forest, making certain he was out of sight before he closed his eyes, and stepped between the realms as only he could, walking the shadowy path back to Jotunheim.

It was nothing like his first time between the realms, when he didn't actually know where the branches were and followed the proper steps mostly out of luck. He could see each path now, glowing darkly and looping between here and there, so serene, so convoluted so chaotic as the world tree held each of them tight.

Each path could only be followed from one end to the other though, there was no back tracking, and there was no way to go from one path to another halfway through without getting hopelessly lost. That was one of the few warnings that Mimameidr had given him that Loki felt not even the slightest inclination to push against, especially since he had gotten the impression that there were other places, not touched by her branches where there were things he wanted nothing to do with.

"Bylestr! Thank goodness you made it… Come on…" Loki was obviously exited as he grasped his brother's hand tugging the other though they didn't move. "We're to be headed to Nidevalleir, but first we're to stop in at Vaneheim as it's closest to Jotunheim…"

"You… you're gray." Byle's voice penetrated Loki's triade, and the halfbreed stopped, looking down at himself before blushing deeply, even as Bylestr sputtered in alarm.

"Well… yes… Just a few moments..." He stated, sighing as he waited for the freezing cold of the land began to penetrate the tunic and trousers he wore. It took a few moments, but his skin steadily turned blue, fading from the almost golden Aesir tone to the much darker Jotun one. "My skin… changes with the temperature… I'm not certain at all if its because I'm a halfbreed or if it's because I'm Vitki… the Aesir form isn't the only one I can take… but it doesn't happen as naturally when I… when I try to control it."

"You take other forms?" There was awe in Byle's voice and Loki had to laugh lightly as he looked to Laufey's third son.

"Sometimes… it's very, very hard though… at least, for me it is. Mimameidr once told me that the difficulty would pass with time, but it's been decades and I still can't seem to keep any form other than Jotun or Aesir for any amount of serious time." Loki's grin turned mischivious once more. "Perhaps it's something you'll find easier… History in other realms stated that the Jotnar, all of them not just the frozen ones, were good at shifting their forms as needed…"

"Other…. What other Jotnar? A Jotun is a being of ice." Byle stated, and Loki laughed out loud.

"No… a Jotun is a giant, a being larger and more physically intimidating than the other races…in fact, like Aesir and Humans and Elves and even Dwarves, there used to be very many different kinds before Nal, father of Farbauti who was father of Laufey as Laufey is father of Bylester, was king of the Frost Giants and began the war to rule Jotunheim. According to the histories I could get my hands on, there used to be as many different kinds of Jotnar as there are mortals." Loki's voice gradually went from jovial to somber as he explained, even as he watched the pain in Bylstr's eyes grow. "Most of the history recorded by other realms is of war and destruction of one kind or another… I'll bring the books to you some time, or copies of them if I can't get the books themselves, if you would like."

"Yes… yes I would like that a lot… I… I want to find out more about our past and our history… the only things I know about my ancestors is that my father bought war while trying to conquer the realms…" Byle stated, his voice sad, and Loki was silent for a moment before grinning widely and using his magic to make green smoke rise out of the ground in interesting almost serpentine shapes.

"Come on.. you'll learn more if you come see the other realms for yourself." He tugged again on Byle's arm, urging the taller male to walk forward with him, even as he stumbled. "Whatever you do though, don't let go of my hand…" He added, even as Byle yelped at finding himself on a shadow path,

"What… what is this, how did… Is… is that…" He was looking behind him at the huge, glowing sphere that was Jotunheim. The top of it was bright blue, and the bottom the same, but between there was a darker blue, and little bits of scattered green here and there, or brown in some places.

"That's Jotunheim as it looks from Mimameidr's paths." Loki stated, focusing on the pathway. "Come on… we can't linger or we might fall… if that happens we'll not survive it I guarantee you."

"Alright… lets go then…" Byle steeled his voice and followed the magic using Vitki, resolutely not looking behind him even as the pathway began to exhaust him. It seemed to take forever, far longer than the Jotnar warrior thought it possibly could have, and he was struggling to breathe when suddenly everything changed. The darkness surrounding them was gone, and there were things, brown pillars with green at their tops, and the ground wasn't frozen at all.

"There… welcome to Vaneheim." Loki said brightly, turning towards his sib with a brilliant smile on his face, still holding tight to the larger male's hand.

"Its so bright… it hurts my eyes very badly, Loki." Byle stated, bringing his free arm up to shield himself, and Loki nodded, even as he felt his own eyes shifting to accommodate the different light. "But so… its very different…"

"I know… Jotunheim is beautiful and cold and dark, but this place is beautiful too, and light and alive." Loki stated, his voice exited as he let go of Byle's hand so that he could point up into the trees. "Look, those are sparrows, in that nest. And in the hollow over there, that's a squirrel, they're quite agile and very hard to catch… I had a bet once with Thor to see which of us could catch one faster." Byle chuckled, and Loki looked back to him, the vitki grinning even wider as his suspicions were confirmed.

"Look at yourself… you've shifted as well." He stated, mirth in his voice as he spoke, looking Byle over. It was true, the larger male's skin had changed, shifting to a brownish color, while his eyes had shifted to the same blue his skin normally was. Nothing else changed about him though, not the markings along his skin nor the horns on his head, and Loki was fascinated as he realized that was different from his own transformations.

"You still look exactly like you… it's amazing." Loki said, clapping in excitement. "Come on.. Baldur is waiting for us, then we can head to Nidavellir… I've done my research and I think I know exactly where to go, and what to barter for." Loki laughed as he moved, once more grasping Byle's hand as he dragged his brother into this new world, not giving him over much time to dwell on his transformation.

"Are.. you can't be so certain that this is a good idea…" Byle protested, even as Loki pulled him into the clearing where Baldur waited for them, the silver haired Aesir rising to his feet as he saw his brother and the stranger emerge. He immediately went on the defensive as he saw the eight foot tall being behind Loki, before taking in the view of the mischievous half-breed gripping the being's hand and tugging at him. "Hello… you must be Baldur…" The giant said, planting his feet and not moving forward any further even as his elder sib tugged at him.

"I am… I haven't had the pleasure of hearing about you though.." Baldur's voice was careful, even as his hand was on his blade.

"I did tell you though… this is my best friend, Byle… Byle, this is Baldur, my other best friend… Now, come on… I need your help to gather the supplies and we'll be able to head on our way." Loki's green eyes glinted as he prodded his brothers into movement, not taking no for any kind of answer.

* * *

"Very well, Loki Silvertongue, we'll take your wager. But if my brother and I win, we will take what is ours." Sindri stated, scowling darkly at the half breed who sat on his hearth, laughing. "Even after only three days, I'm quite eager to separate that head from your shoulders." The dwarfs words were cold and calculating, but Loki was un-deterred, making a flamboyant bow as he stood before jumping down, growing back to his proper size as he did so.

"My thanks then, Sindri of Ivaldi, and Brokkr of Ivaldi. I look forward to seeing your work, however briefly before I depart this living coil… even if I'm certain it will never live up to the work of Snorri Goldeneyes." Loki's words made both dwarves flinch, and Sindri roared at him, charging towards the young god and trying to hit him, even as Loki teleported a short distance away, taking one last bow from the doorway before disappearing again from sight.

In truth, Loki ran as fast as he could down the path to where he was go meet Baldur and Byle, and he held his knees tightly as he tried to catch his breath. "The one thing that can't be caught when you give chase…" he murmured to himself, before collapsing onto his rear.

"Ho there Loki… did you get them to start working?" Baldur called, Byle rumbling his own greeting as they approached the sitting godling.

"I did… it was a little harder than I expected though and I had to bet something I'm quite certain father would not approve of me losing…" Loki said, laying back into the leaves. "Nevertheless, if all is followed according to plan there will be no negative repercussions." He stated, grinning so widely it felt almost as if his head would split open in mirth.

"About that… Snorri was quite reluctant to begin work… are you sure you know what you're doing?" Byle's question was well considered, making Baldur give pause and look up at the huge man. "I'm not certain asking for these items then trying to sabotage their creation is wise…"

"I know… but the wagers are laid, and there are few other paths left at this moment… I had to make the Ivaldi quite angry to get them working…" Loki sighed, before stretching and rolling to his feet. "Whelp… time to get to work… I'll ruin Snorri's work, while you ruin Sindri and Brokkr's. Please don't fail this… it is of vital importance…" He looked deep into Byle's eyes first before turning his emerald gaze to Baldur. "Three days… that's all we have…"

"It will be done, Loki." Byle said, a wide grin coming to his features as he watched his smaller sib, though there was something hidden in his eyes as he glanced towards Baldur. "Is that not so, son of Odin?"

"Of course, although I'm not so certain what all good I can be in this instance… I don't have fancy magic to distract them." Baldur said, making a show of complaining to the halfbreed.

"You've already been instrumental in getting everything set up, I'm certain you'll be more than sufficient for the next part of the plan." Loki said brightly, bouncing in place almost as ideas flowed through his mind at light speed. "You're both clever, very, very clever else I would never have been able to ask for your help…"

"Well then… since the wager is to be completed in three days time… I think its time we got to work, yes?" Byle's grin was wide as his siblings, and more than a little fierce.

"Indeed… I'll see you both in three days…" Loki bowed with a flourish, before lightly setting off towards his target.

* * *

It was close… far closer than Loki wanted to ever admit later when he caught his breath again after coming so close to losing his head.

"I can't believe you managed to talk them out of it… you're a genius." Baldur said, laughing where he sat on a large rock. There was admiration in his voice as he spoke, and Loki laughed as well, shaking where he sat on a high branch in a tall tree.

"Well.. it only makes sense… they can hardly have my head if they have to take my neck as well… that wasn't part of the bargain." Loki couldn't keep from laughing, and if there was something hysterical about it, neither of his brothers said anything.

"You're lucky they weren't willing to settle for taking half your head from the jaw up… now come down from there… We must get these delivered to where they belong after all." Byle said as the laughter died down, his tone more serious than either of the Aesir boys. "I have to return home soon after all, and I hardly want to miss out on the end of this venture."

"Of course, of course…" Loki said, scrambling down the tree rather like a squirrel. "The carrying enchantments won't last long so we really should get moving…"

The halfbreeds voice was cut off as all three of them were engulfed in a whirlwind of rainbow, and Loki blinked in surprise as he found himself standing in the gate room of the Asbru bridge.

"ERm.. we were coming home soon… there was no need to be hasty." Baldur said, nervous suddenly under Hemidal's all seeing gaze.

"I've got something for you Hemidal, but you can't have it until feast day." Loki added brightly, unperturbed by this set of events.

"Thank you, Loki, but your father is more concerned with you, and how you broke part of your promise to him." The gatekeeper said gravely, and Loki flinched, dropping his head into his hands with a groan.

"No one got hurt.. not even me…" Loki groaned, and Byle grunted in his own disapproving tone.

"I'm aware of that, which is why I didn't have Hemidal retrieve you earlier." Odin stated, stepping into the room, and Loki looked up at him, a pout on his features even as Byle paled, recognizing the Aesir king from the tales of the older Jotnar warriors and dropping to his knee. "You were to put no one in danger, not yourself or Baldur or Byle…"

"Not so!" Loki grinned as he saw it, the way between what was said. "The terms were that I was not to put others in danger, and I was not to come to harm. I came to no harm, father."

"You could have though… this was far too much of an undertaking for you." Odin drew in a breath, and Loki finally flinched as it looked like he was going to go into a very long winded tirade and hit every point in Loki's adventure where he had gone wrong.

"With all due respect, All Father, may I interject?" The voice was unexpected, and Odin paused as he looked to where Byle was kneeling, warily nodding and motioning for the young jotun to go on. "M… Loki did what he did because he cares, and the fault here is on us… we did not work to fulfill our part of the plan as vigilantly as Loki did his. It is my fault and Baldur's that Loki was put in danger, I beg for your forgiveness."

Odin's face pinched as he looked over the Jotun youth's demeanor, before he sighed. "Yes… I have quite a few words for both of you as well… for now, Bylestr, you're invited to spend midwinter feast with us."

The Jotun youth first paled at the use of his name, before his eyes widened in wonder at the words spoken by the Aesir king. "I could… I could see… but… Thank you, but I can't stay long… I'm certain I've already been missed…" His emotions ranged from excitement to despair as he spoke, the longing clear in his voice even though he denied what he wanted so badly.

"I might be able to do something about that… this I can do without causing any harm, if it's alright, father." Loki said, speaking up, as irrepressibly cheerful as ever, grinning widely as Odin cautiously nodded. "I can create and illusion of you and put it to sleep in your bed… after being on a 'hunt' for three days, you would be exhausted anyways, right? Of course… it would only hold for a day or so…" Loki frowned then, biting his lip.

"Very well… you two arrange that, Baldur and I will return to the palace for now and I'll have the gifts put in your room, Loki, until you choose to distribute them." Odin said with a sigh. "Don't think you've heard the last about this reckless endangerment, any of you." The king added as an afterthought, even as Loki laughed again.

* * *

The feast hall was brighter than Bylestr had ever thought possible, and the foreign prince was extremely uncomfortable where he sat between Loki and Baldur at the foot of the table… in front of everyone else. It was both terrifying to be under the gaze of so many Aesir, and thrilling to be somewhere no Jotun had been in generations and be seeing things and beings that were so different than what he knew, and in some places so similar as well.

"… which is when Byle pulled me out of the ravine. I thought for sure I was going to die that time, but it was him who managed to keep me alive." Loki was saying, finishing off a tale of their childhood.

"You sound like quite a formidable warior, Byle…" One of the Aesir stated, a warrior with short dark hair and a pale complexion whom Loki had introduced as Lady Sif. The warrior's eyes narrowed at him, and Byle found himself grinning, having faced such looks always from his fathers soldiers.

"A student, Lady Sif, and a student only though I do what I can." Byle said after a moment of contemplation, careful of his words and careful of his actions. He was here with the All Fathers sanction, but he knew that more than one of the elderly warrior types had recognized him for what he was if not who. "My strength lies not in finness, but raw strength. I always enjoy learning new forms though, especially the ones Loki teaches me." There was a grin on the giant's features as he interacted with these people, gently testing the bounds of what he was allowed here.

"Lady Sif is a much better fighter than I… and I'm certain she could teach much better as well… if perhaps you wish to?" Loki's tentative question was directed at the warrior, and the fierce grin on her features seemed to be enough of an answer for him as he immediately began to chuckle.

It was a few hours later that Loki slipped away, leaving a much more relaxed Byle interacting freely with Baldur and the warriors three. When he returned, there was a fierce grin on his features as he bypassed the end of the table where the young warriors sat and headed straight to Odin's side, whispering to his father for a moment before the king cleared his throat and gained the attention of everyone present.

"My son Loki wishes to present gifts to his most favored friends." Was Odin's simple announcement, garning the attention of everyone present, no doubt interested in what the youth had available.

"I've thought long and hard since coming here, and of those of my kin I love, and those I love like kin. My first gift... I present my most honored father with this… Draupnir. Every ninth night, this ring will at will create nine golden replicas. It's not as impressive as most things, but it seemed suiting." With a flourish, Loki presented the bejeweled golden ring to Odin, who smiled and put it on his finger.

"Mother… to you I give Ogygia. Your thread will never tangle, and no material will be too unwieldy when born on this golden shuttle…" Loki leaned forward to place it in Queen Frigga's hands, grinning widely as he added under his breath. "There's more of course, but the list is quite extensive… shall I tell you later?"

"Of course… thank you my child, its lovely." The Queen chuckled and played along with the mischievous child.

"To Fandral, Hogun, and Volstag… I present these three wonders. Fandral… I present to you Starjammer. This boat when put onto any surface of liquid will sail you to where you most need to be, and will change size to take with you up to one hundred men. Hogun, I present the Elixer of Recovery. A single drop will restore to full vitality a man on the very verge of death even as he draws his last breath. Morely, there will always in this bottle be as much as is needed. To Volstag, I present to you Aegir's Chalice. This cup will never run empty and will at your will be filled fresh with whatever you most please, from mead to spring water, to rare wines and beyond." Loki's eyes twinkled with joy at the looks on each wariors face as he presented his gifts, and he stored them in his memory fiercely even as he relished their amazement.

"To Lady Sif… I present this golden helm… each strand of gold is stronger than steel and will protect you from any blow. It will at your will be whatever length you choose, and whatever color." Loki presented the hairpiece to the lovely maiden, who took it with a look between awe and delight, and as she looked up at Loki a bright blush lit her cheeks before she stammered a thanks.

"To Byle… who has been my friend since before I knew any magic at all, who has encouraged me in every way… I present the Eye of Verda… with this, you can see anything not cloaked by magic… and a great deal that is." To his Jotun brother, Loki presented what looked like a pearl the size of a child's head, though in Byle's hand it looked much smaller, and there didn't seem to be an end to the wonder on the larger beings face as he examined it.

"Baldur, brightest brother… I present to you Svalinn … this shield will protect you from any type of blow, and any type of force… while you wear it, it will protect you completely." He held out a golden chain with a small flat disk on it. "When you wish, it will grow in size to whatever you need." Baldur seemed pleased enough with Loki's offering, surprise and pleasure on his face as he accepted the pendant.

"Thor, to you I present Mjolnir. Held within this hammer is unimaginable potential, but only if you can unlock it…" The hammer that Loki presented to Thor was heavy enough that when Loki presented it to his brother and unlocked the ward on it, the weight startled the thunderous prince, before a wide and joyous grin covered his face.

"Thank you Loki. You've outdone yourself with these gifts…" Odin said, a twinkle in his eye even as Loki burst out laughing.

"I could never have done it on my own, Father… If not for Baldur and Byle, I would never have been able to secure these tokens." Loki crowed, before launching into the tale of what they had done to acquire the gifts, with the occasional interjections from his compatriots.

* * *

Later, Loki slipped away from the feast to deliver the final gift, warded from sight and detection as he shadowed his way through the halls and out of the palace. It didn't take him very long to reach his destination, and despite being warded from all forms of detection that he could manage, the fire eyed man turned to smirk at him before he could reveal himself the way he wanted to.

"Welcome back prince Loki." Hemidal stated, voice somber as always, though the mischievous little halfbreed could still detect his amusement even as he finally dropped his wards.

"You always know… and I still don't know how." Loki complained, grinning up at the much older being. "It would make a great many things easier if I didn't have to worry about you telling father all of my exploits."

"I only tell what is asked… you know I cannot offer more than that." Hemidal's face began to move, just slightly, as the corners of his lips twitched in an upward direction.

"Well… I have a gift for you… I think you already know, since you were watching us the entire time and knew everything we were up to." Loki's very nearly giggled as he pulled the final gift from his pouch, the traveling charms becoming unwound even as he did, revealing a huge two handed golden sword in his hands. "Attack and defense for the guardian… this is Hofuo." Loki didn't go into the enchantments contained within the blade, but even so, there was an impressed look on Hemidal's face as he accepted the offering.

"It is lovely." The guardian's smile became slightly less unguarded. "Though I am uncertain why you decided to grace me with one of these gifts… you rarely ever come through the bifrost and our conversations regarding other matters are by necessity brief."

"Because I connect with you? You're like me… and you'll need it in the times to come.." Loki shrugged, his gaze not locked on anything that Hemidal, the all seeing guardian, could detect. "The thing's you've told me about being half aesir and half other… have helped me… and I know it and I wanted to show my gratitude… beyond that, I wouldn't be lying if I said I hope there are a few things you won't tell Father about when my plans and plots do get all asnarl." The half Jotun giggled softly, before shaking his head. "I need to get back to the feast, but I'll be back to visit fairly soon."

"I look forward to it." Even as he spoke, the gatekeeper shook his head in exasperation, watching the young prince scamper back towards the palace and city.

* * *

Wowza.. I expected to have this written earlier and perhaps better.

Erm... I promised I wouldn't talk about character motivations... but I'm seriously thinking of spilling the beans on Baldur...

Please read and review if you liked it. :3


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